1. (a) No person shall use, employ, adopt, or utilize the TAP, Taste of Texas, Vintage Texas, Texas Grown, Naturally Texas, or GO TEXAN and Design mark, unless prior application for registration or licensing has been made to the department and permission to make such use, employment, adoption, or utilization has been granted.

2. (b) Unless permission is otherwise granted by the department, the GO TEXAN and Design mark may only be used by registrants and licensees to certify and promote the following Texas agricultural products:

   1. (1) agricultural products produced in Texas;
   2. (2) agricultural food products processed in Texas, regardless of origin, and unprocessed agricultural food products grown in Texas. A food service company, including a restaurant, is not eligible for membership 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 or restaurants may not use the mark in any general fashion to promote the business or its services;

   3. (3) wine which is:

      1. (A) at least 75% by volume, derived from grapes grown and fermented in the State of Texas; and
      2. (B) fully produced and finished within the State of Texas;
   4. (4) Texas-grown nursery, floral, and forestry products;

   5. (5) leather, textile, or apparel products approved by the commissioner as being:

      1. (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
      2. (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. (6) horticulture product(s);

   7. (7) lamb or goat meat(s). In order to be certified as "GO TEXAN" lamb or goat meat(s), lamb or goat meat(s) must be from a lamb or goat that has been fed in Texas for at least 30 days and:

      1. (A) be from a lamb or goat that has been slaughtered in Texas; or
      2. (B) be from a lamb or goat slaughtered and fabricated in Texas;
      3. (C) 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;
   8. (8) livestock or poultry feed(s), feed supplement(s) and pet food(s);
   9. (9) fish, shellfish, or other aquatic species in their raw form or processed form;
   10. (10) natural fiber(s);
   11. (11) natural wood(s);
   12. (12) processed food product(s);
   13. (13) processed natural fiber and natural wood product(s);
   14. (14) wildlife processed for food or by-products;
   15. (15) equine species; and
   16. (16) Texas processed agricultural product(s).

3. (c) The Texas Agricultural Product, Taste of Texas, Vintage Texas, Texas Grown, and Naturally Texas marks shall only be used by program members to identify products meeting the requirements for membership for those programs prior to May 23, 1999 as follows:

   1. (1) for the TAP mark, for products identified in subsection (b)(1) of this section;
   2. (2) for the Taste of Texas mark, for products identified in subsection (b)(2) of this section;
   3. (3) for the Vintage Texas mark, for products identified in subsection (b)(3) of this section;
   4. (4) for the Texas Grown mark, for products identified in subsection (b)(4) of this section; or
   5. (5) for the Naturally Texas mark, for products identified in subsection (b)(5) of this section.
4. (d) Applications submitted under this section shall be made in writing on a form prescribed by the department. Application forms may be obtained by contacting the Texas Department of Agriculture Marketing and Promotion Division at P.O. Box 12847, Austin, Texas 78711, phone (512) 463-7624.
5. (e) Applications shall be submitted to the assistant commissioner for Marketing and Promotion, Texas Department of Agriculture, P.O. Box 12847, Austin, Texas 78711.
6. (f) If approved, applicants shall remit the required registration fee with the application.
7. (g) Upon receipt of the registration fee, the department shall mail to the registrant or licensee 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.
8. (h) Other than the use of the mark, no registrant or licensee 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 TAP, Taste of Texas, Vintage Texas, Texas Grown, Naturally Texas, or GO TEXAN products.
9. (i) Registrants and licensees shall indemnify and hold harmless the commissioner, the State of Texas, and the department for any claims, losses, or damages arising out of or in connection with that person's advertising, marketing, packaging, manufacture, or other commercial handling of TAP, Taste of Texas, Vintage Texas, Texas Grown, Naturally Texas, or GO TEXAN products.
10. (j) Any permission under the certificate of registration granted to a registrant to use the mark shall be nonexclusive and nontransferable for the products listed in the application.
11. (k) 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. Further the registrants shall not have any right, title, or interest in the mark, other than the right to use the mark in accordance with the certificate of registration. Registrants must agree not to attack the title of the department to the mark, or attack the validity of the certificate of registration or the permission granted by the department.
12. (l) The nature and quality of the goods sold by registrants in connection with the mark shall conform to any standards which may be set from time to time by the department. Registrants shall cooperate with the commissioner by permitting reasonable inspection of the registrant's operation and supplying the commissioner 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.
13. (m) Registrants and licensees 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 covered by the certification of registration.
14. (n) Registrants shall use the mark only in the form and manner, and with appropriate legends, as prescribed from time to time by the commissioner. Registrants shall affix on all product(s) bearing the mark the following legal notice: GO TEXAN and Design is a certification mark of the Texas Department of Agriculture.
15. (o) The department shall have the sole right and discretion to bring infringement or unfair competition proceedings involving the TAP, Taste of Texas, Vintage Texas, Texas Grown, Naturally Texas, or GO TEXAN and Design marks.
16. (p) The department may consider in its evaluation of an applicant or registrant any information regarding an applicant or member that could impair the department's efforts to promote the development of markets for Texas agriculture and other products.
17. (q) The consideration of information as provided in subsection (p) of this section may include consideration of any information that may not enhance the integrity and positive image of the program, including, but not limited to, a review of criminal information, as allowed by applicable laws and regulations.

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 November18,1999,24TexReg10046;amended to be effective September 19, 2001, 26 TexReg 7119; amended to be effective February 5, 2004, 29 TexReg 937; amended to be effective July 7, 2004, 29 TexReg 6256; amended to be effective December 21, 2005, 30 TexReg 8425; amended to be effective July 26, 2006, 31 TexReg 5799.