Legal Definitions - geographically descriptive trademark

A geographically descriptive trademark is a type of trademark that primarily describes the geographic origin of the goods or services it represents. This means the mark tells consumers where the product comes from or where the service is provided.

The law generally makes it difficult to register a geographically descriptive term as a trademark because it wants to prevent one business from monopolizing a common geographic name that many other businesses in that region might legitimately need to use to describe their own products or services. For a geographically descriptive mark to be protected as a trademark, it usually needs to acquire "secondary meaning," meaning consumers have come to associate that geographic name specifically with a particular company's products or services, rather than just the location itself.

Here are some examples to illustrate this concept:

• Example 1: Imagine a company that produces olive oil in the Tuscany region of Italy and attempts to register the name "Tuscan Olive Oil" as its trademark. This would likely be considered a geographically descriptive trademark because "Tuscan" directly indicates the geographic origin of the olive oil. Many other olive oil producers in Tuscany could also truthfully describe their product as "Tuscan Olive Oil," so allowing one company to exclusively trademark this term would unfairly prevent others from accurately describing their goods.

• Example 2: Consider a dairy farm in Wisconsin that makes cheese and tries to trademark the name "Wisconsin Cheddar." This name is geographically descriptive because "Wisconsin" clearly identifies the state where the cheddar cheese is produced. Since numerous dairy farms in Wisconsin produce cheddar cheese, granting exclusive trademark rights to "Wisconsin Cheddar" for one farm would hinder other local producers from truthfully labeling their products.

• Example 3: Suppose a travel agency based in the state of Colorado specializes in guided tours and outdoor activities exclusively within the Rocky Mountains. If this agency tries to trademark the name "Rocky Mountain Adventures," it would likely be deemed geographically descriptive. "Rocky Mountain" points directly to the specific geographic area where the services are offered. Many other businesses operate in the Rocky Mountains and offer adventure-related services, so this name describes the location of the service rather than uniquely identifying a single provider.