An electronic registration mark is a category of trademark that restricts the use of trademarked words and phrases in online advertising.
The State of Utah proposed this new regulation in response to complaints from trademark owners about how online advertisers have used trademarked terms. Some online advertisers, particularly search engines, allow trademarked keywords to generate advertisements for the trademark holder's competitor.
The Utah Trademark Protection Act created the electronic registration mark. Under this law, the owner of an electronic registration mark may prevent the use of its registered trademarks to generate advertisements for products that compete directly with the trademarked product. The owner of the mark may seek legal redress from both its competitor and the advertiser. This applies only to internet pages viewed within the State of Utah. Under the law, the state will provide all online advertisers with a searchable database of electronic registration marks. The state will provide this service free of charge. The law is scheduled to go into effect June 30, 2007.

Copyright
Patents
Trademarks
Industrial design rights
Utility models
Geographical indication
Trade secrets
Related rights
Tradenames
Domain names
Database rights
Mask work
Plant breeders' rights
Supplementary protection certificate
Traditional knowledge Controversy
Critics find several flaws with electronic registration marks. They argue that restricting the keywords that advertisers can use violates the First Amendment. Another issue concerns the advertiser's ability to determine whether a web page is being viewed in Utah or elsewhere: Because of this ambiguity, the law may be vulnerable to Dormant Commerce Clause challenges. Critics also assert that the law worsens the quality of online search results by restricting the search results that users can view. Supporters respond that trademark law has always considered trademark infringement to be a form of theft that is not protected speech, that search engines have demonstrated that they can pinpoint Internet users' locations, and that paid advertisements are not a core component of the Internet experience.