(a) No person shall use, employ, adopt, or utilize
the GO TEXAN certification mark, unless prior application for registration
has been made to the department and permission has been granted. In
addition to any other fee that may be assessed under this chapter,
the department may assess a fee or royalty as described in §17.63
of this subchapter (relating to Licensing of the GO TEXAN Certification
Mark) for use of the GO TEXAN certification mark.
(b) Unless permission is otherwise granted by the department,
the GO TEXAN certification mark may only be used by registrants in
accordance with these rules and department guidance to certify and
promote the following Texas products:
(1) agricultural products produced in Texas;
(2) agricultural food products processed in Texas,
regardless of origin, and unprocessed agricultural food products grown
in Texas. A food service company, excluding restaurants, is not eligible
for registration unless it processes a packaged product for resale,
in which case the mark may only be used to promote the specific program-eligible
products. Food service companies may not use the mark to promote the
approved business or its services in a manner that would mislead consumers
to believe it was a GO TEXAN registrant;
(3) wine produced in Texas or processed in Texas, as
defined in §17.51 of this subchapter (relating to Definitions).
Wine meeting this standard, but consisting of less than 75 percent
Texas-grown fruit, may not use the GO TEXAN certification mark on
the label, bottle, or cork. GO TEXAN registrant wineries may continue
to use the mark on their general marketing materials and participate
in GO TEXAN promotions;
(4) Texas-grown nursery, floral, and forestry products;
(5) leather, textile, or apparel products approved
by the department as being:
(A) composed of 50% or greater natural fibers derived
from crops or livestock grown or raised within the State of Texas,
the identity of the fibers having been preserved throughout processing
so as to be verifiable by satisfactory documentation as having originated
in Texas; or
(B) composed of 50% or greater natural fibers, regardless
of where grown or raised, which have been processed into leather,
textile, or apparel products within the State of Texas in a manner
which substantially changes their form, and, if composed of natural
fibers derived from crops or livestock grown or raised outside the
State of Texas, the natural fibers must be of a type commercially
produced within the State of Texas;
(6) horticulture product(s);
(7) meat(s). In order to be certified as "GO TEXAN",
meat(s), applicants must meet the following criteria:
(A) Livestock or exotic animals must have been born,
raised, fed, slaughtered, and/or products therefrom fabricated in
Texas.
(B) For purposes of this paragraph, "fabricated" shall
be defined as the process of taking a carcass and cutting the carcass
into wholesale or retail cuts of meat or meat products.
(8) livestock or poultry feed(s), feed supplement(s),
and pet food(s);
(9) fish, shellfish, or other aquatic species in their
raw form or processed form;
(10) natural fiber(s);
(11) natural wood(s);
(12) processed food product(s);
(13) processed natural fiber and natural wood product(s);
(14) wildlife processed for food or by-products;
(15) equine species;
(16) Texas processed agricultural product(s); and
(17) other products produced, manufactured, constructed,
or created within Texas; or processed within Texas as described in §17.51
of this subchapter.
(c) Applications submitted under this section shall
be made online at www.licensing.texasagriculture.gov.
(d) Applications will not be processed without the
required registration fee.
(e) Upon approval of the application, the department
shall provide the registrant a certificate of registration which is
valid for one year and shall expire on the last day of the month corresponding
to the license anniversary date. The department shall also provide
copies of the mark, suitable for reproduction, upon request of the
registrant.
(f) Other than the authorized use of the mark, no registrant
shall use any statement of affiliation or endorsement by the State
of Texas or the department in the selling, advertising, marketing,
packaging, or other commercial handling of GO TEXAN products and services.
(g) Registrants shall indemnify and hold harmless the
commissioner, the State of Texas, and the department for any claims,
losses, court costs and attorneys' fees, or damages arising out of
or in connection with that person's use, advertising, marketing, packaging,
manufacture, or other commercial handling of GO TEXAN products and
services.
(h) Any permission under the certificate of registration
granted to a registrant to use the GO TEXAN certification mark shall
be nonexclusive and nontransferable for the products listed in the
application.
(i) Registrants shall do nothing inconsistent with
the ownership of the mark in the department, and all use of the mark
by any registrant shall inure to the benefit of and be on behalf of
the department. Registrants shall not have any right, title, or interest
in the mark, other than the right to use the mark as authorized in
accordance with the certificate of registration. Registrants waive
the right to attack the department's ownership, use of, and permissions
granted by the department associated with the GO TEXAN certification
mark.
(j) The nature and quality of the goods sold by registrants
in connection with the mark shall conform to any standards, which
are set by the department. Registrants shall cooperate with the department
by permitting reasonable inspection of the registrant's operation
and promptly supplying the department with specimens of use of the
mark upon request. Registrants shall not use the mark on goods sold
or marketed as products from another country or state, or as products
from a city or region outside of Texas, unless prior written authorization
is received from the department.
(k) Registrants shall comply with all applicable laws
and regulations and obtain all appropriate governmental approval pertaining
to the selling, advertising, marketing, packaging, manufacturing,
or other commercial handling of the products or services covered by
the certification of registration.
(l) Registrants shall use the mark only in the form
and manner, and with appropriate legends, as prescribed by the department.
(m) Registrant is responsible for strict compliance
with current departmental guidance and regulations. Guidance is available
on the GO TEXAN website (www.gotexan.org) and as provided by the department.
Failure to meet all use requirements will result in the suspension
or termination of use of the mark and GO TEXAN Program license.
(n) The department shall have the sole right and discretion
to bring infringement or unfair competition proceedings involving
the GO TEXAN certification mark. Failure to bring proceedings does
not constitute a waiver of the department's rights and does not preclude
all other available legal actions.
(o) The department shall consider in its evaluation
of an applicant or registrant any information that could impair the
department's efforts to promote the development of markets for Texas
agriculture and other products or the existence of the mark. This
includes whether the product may enhance the integrity and positive
image of the GO TEXAN Program, including, but not limited to, a review
of the applicant's criminal background, as authorized by applicable
laws and regulations. Failure to promote the GO TEXAN Program or compromising
the image and integrity of the GO TEXAN Program will result in the
denial or termination of the application or registration to use the
GO TEXAN certification mark.
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Source Note: The provisions of this §17.52 adopted to be effective January 1, 1981, 5 TexReg 4988; amended to be effective April 16, 1984, 9 TexReg 1881; amended to be effective December 11, 1989, 14 TexReg 6251; amended to be effective May 6, 1993, 18 TexReg 2623; amended to be effective September 2, 1996, 21 TexReg 7966; amended to be effective September 7, 1998, 23 TexReg 9016; amended to be effective May 23, 1999, 24 TexReg 3844; amended to be effective November 18, 1999, 24 TexReg 10046; amended to be effective September 19, 2001, 26 TexReg 7119; amended to be effective February 5, 2004, 29 TexReg 937; amended to be effective July7, 2004, 29 TexReg 6256; amended to be effective December 21, 2005, 30 TexReg 8425; amended to be effective July 26, 2006, 31 TexReg 5799; amended to be effective January 9, 2008, 33 TexReg 76; amended to be effective October 18, 2009, 34 TexReg 7065; amended to be effective September 1, 2011, 36 TexReg 5353; amended to be effective January 10, 2013, 38 TexReg 241; amended to be effective September 17, 2014, 39 TexReg 7292; amended to be effective February 12, 203, 48 TexReg 656 |