,,ii #aafth ,,congress #ast ,session ,s4 #bdci ,,in ,,the ,,senate ,,of ,,the ,,united ,,states ,august #a1 #bjai ,mr4 ,king 7for himself1 ,mr4 ,lankford1 ,mr4 ,cornyn1 ,ms4 ,sinema1 ,mr4 ,braun1 ,mr4 ,manchin1 and ,mr4 ,cramer7 introduced the following bill2 which was read twice and referred to the ,committee on the ,judiciary ,a ,,bill ,to amend the ,trademark ,act of #aidf to provide that the licensing of a mark for use by a related company may not be construed as establishing an employment relationship between the owner of the mark1 or an authorizing person1 and either that related company or the employees of that related company1 and for other purposes4 #a4 ,short title ,this ,act may be cited as the ,trademark ,licensing ,protection ,act of #bjai4 #b4 ,safe harbor ,section #e of the ,act entitled ,an ,act to provide for the registration and protection of trademarks used in commerce1 to carry out the provisions of certain international conventions1 and for other purposes1 approved ,july #e1 #aidf 7commonly known as the ,trademark ,act of #aidf7 7#ae ,u4,s4,c4 #ajee71 is amended-- 7#a7 in the first sentence1 by striking ,where a and inserting the following3 7a7 ,in general ,where a 2 and 7#b7 by adding at the end the following3 7b7 ,consistency in use 7#a7 ,definitions ,in this subsection-- 7,a7 the term authorizing person means a person that is authorized by the owner of a mark to license that mark for use by a related company2 7,b7 the term communicate1 with respect to subparagraph 7,d77i77,,ii71 does not include any communication related to a personnel or employment policy or procedure2 7,c7 the term employment relationship means any type of joint employer relationship1 single employer relationship1 or other employment-related status or relationship2 7,d7 the term exercise control over the mark-- 7i7 includes1 but is not limited to1 requiring a related company to-- 7,i7 complete training conducted for the purpose of preserving or enhancing goodwill1 a reputation1 uniformity1 or the expectation of the public with respect to the nature and quality of goods or services associated with a mark2 or 7,,ii7 communicate with the owner of a mark1 or an authorizing person1 with respect to preserving or enhancing goodwill1 a reputation1 uniformity1 or the expectation of the public with respect to the nature and quality of goods or services associated with a mark2 and 7ii7 does not include any personnel or employment policy or procedure that is communicated-- 7,i7 by-- 7aa7 the owner of a mark2 or 7bb7 an authorizing person2 and 7,,ii7 to-- 7aa7 a related company with respect to the mark2 or 7bb7 any employee of a related company described in item 7aa72 7,e7 the term franchise means a franchise1 as defined-- 7i7 in section #dcf4a7;h7 of title #af1 ,code of ,federal ,regulations1 as in effect on the date of enactment of this subsection2 or 7ii7 under an applicable ,state franchise law2 7,f7 the term franchisee means a franchisee1 as defined-- 7i7 in section #dcf4a7;i7 of title #af1 ,code of ,federal ,regulations1 as in effect on the date of enactment of this subsection2 or 7ii7 under an applicable ,state franchise law2 7,g7 the term franchisor means a franchisor1 as defined-- 7i7 in section #dcf4a7k7 of title #af1 ,code of ,federal ,regulations1 as in effect on the date of enactment of this subsection2 or 7ii7 under an applicable ,state franchise law2 and 7,h7 the term personnel or employment policy or procedure means-- 7i7 any contractually retained right of the owner of a mark1 or an authorizing person1 to directly control a related company's hiring1 promotion1 firing1 or discipline of the employees of such related company2 7ii7 any contractually retained right of the owner of a mark1 or an authorizing person1 to directly control a related company's rates of pay1 including wages and fringe benefits2 7iii7 any contractually retained right of the owner of a mark1 or an authorizing person1 to directly control a related company's assignment of employee work schedules2 7iv7 any contractually retained right of the owner of a mark1 or an authorizing person1 to directly control collective bargaining procedures or labor relations2 and 7v7 any contractually retained right of the owner of a mark1 or an authorizing person1 to directly supervise the employees of a related company4 7#b7 ,applicability ,for the purposes of the ,national ,labor ,relations ,act 7#bi ,u4,s4,c4 #aea et seq47 and the ,fair ,labor ,standards ,act of #aich 7#bi ,u4,s4,c4 #bja et seq471 none of the following may be construed1 alone or in combination with any other factor1 as establishing an employment relationship between the owner of a mark that is a franchisor1 or an authorizing person that is a franchisor1 and a related company with respect to that franchisor1 or the employees of that related company3 7,a7 ,the licensing of the mark for use by that related company or the employees of that related company4 7,b7 ,any exercise of control over the mark by that owner or authorizing person1 as applicable-- 7i7 with respect to the use of the mark by that related company or the employees of that related company2 and 7ii7 for the purpose of preserving or enhancing goodwill1 a reputation1 uniformity1 or the expectation of the public with respect to the nature and quality of goods or services associated with the mark4 4 #c4 ,applicability ,this ,act1 and the amendments made by this ,act1 shall not apply to any proceeding before the ,national ,labor ,relations ,board that is commenced before the date of enactment of this ,act4