Sponsored by:
Assemblyman NICHOLAS CHIARAVALLOTI
District 31 (Hudson)
Assemblywoman ANGELA V. MCKNIGHT
District 31 (Hudson)
SYNOPSIS
Bans non-consensual third-party delivery service use of likenesses, intellectual property, and trademarks.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
As introduced.
An Act concerning third-party use of likenesses, intellectual property, and trademarks and supplementing P.L.1960, c.39 (C.56:8-1 et seq.).
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. As used in this act:
“Agreement” means a written contractual agreement between a merchant and a third-party delivery service.
“Customer” means a person, business, or other entity that places an order for a merchant’s products through a marketplace.
“Likeness” means an identifiable symbol attributed and easily identified as belonging to a specific merchant or retailer.
“Marketplace” means a third party’s proprietary online communication platform where customers can view and search the menus of a merchant or place an order for a merchant’s products via the third party’s website or mobile application for delivery by the third party to the customer.
“Merchant” means a restaurant or other retail entity.
“Third-party delivery service” means a company, organization, or entity, outside of the operation of the merchant’s business that provides delivery services to customers.
2. a. A third-party delivery service shall not use a likeness, registered trademark, or any intellectual property belonging to a merchant in the service’s advertisements or marketplace without obtaining written consent from the merchant to use the likeness, trademark, or other intellectual property.
b. No agreement entered into in accordance with this act that provides for the consent of a merchant for a third-party delivery service to use its likeness, registered trademark, or intellectual property shall include a provision that requires a merchant to indemnify a third-party delivery service, any independent contractor acting on behalf of a third-party delivery service, or any registered agent of a third-party delivery service for any damages or harm that may occur after a product leaves a merchant’s place of business.
3. It is an unlawful practice and a violation of P.L.1960, c.39 (C.56:8-1 et seq.) to violate the provisions of this act.
4. This act shall take effect immediately.
STATEMENT
This bill prohibits third-party delivery services from using any likeness, registered trademark, or intellectual property of a merchant without written consent. Agreements for the use of a likeness, registered trademark, or intellectual property must include a provision requiring a merchant to indemnify a third-party delivery service for any damages to a product after the product has left the merchant’s place of business. A violation of the bill would be a violation of New Jersey’s consumer fraud law. This is punishable by a monetary penalty of not more than $10,000 for a first offense and not more than $20,000 for any subsequent offense. In addition, violations can result in cease and desist orders issued by the Attorney General, the assessment of punitive damages, and the awarding of treble damages and costs to the injured party.
It is the sponsor’s intent that food delivery services must obtain written consent before using any likeness, trademark, or intellectual property of the restaurant or other establishment whose food they may be delivering.