G. & C. Merriam Co. v. Syndicate Pub. Co.

G. & C. Merriam Co. v. Syndicate Pub. Co., 237 U.S. 618 (1915), was a United States Supreme Court case in which the Court held that, under the Trademark Act of 1881, after a copyrighted work expires, the word used to designate that work falls into the public domain and cannot be trademarked.[1]

G. & C. Merriam Co. v. Syndicate Pub. Co.
Supreme Court of the United States
Argued April 14, 1915 Decided June 1, 1915
Full case name	G. & C. Merriam Co. v. Syndicate Pub. Co.
Citations	237 U.S. 618 (more) 35 S. Ct. 708; 59 L. Ed. 1148
Holding
Under the Trademark Act of 1881, after a copyrighted work expires, the word used to designate that work falls into the public domain and cannot be trademarked.
Court membership
Chief Justice Edward D. White Associate Justices Joseph McKenna · Oliver W. Holmes Jr. William R. Day · Charles E. Hughes Willis Van Devanter · Joseph R. Lamar Mahlon Pitney · James C. McReynolds
Case opinion
Majority	Day
Laws applied
Trademark Act of 1881