Trademarking the Geographic Center of North America. Episode 125

Why a Trademark Episode?

Most of my episodes are about the patenting process, but as an inventor, you might also have needs involving copyrights, trademarks, or trade secrets. That’s why I occasionally throw in episodes covering other areas of intellectual property, even though I try to keep most content patent-related. In this episode, I’m focusing on trademarks, inspired by one of my favorite news shows: CBS Sunday Morning.

If you often complain about news only reporting bad stories and never covering the good stuff, you should definitely be watching CBS Sunday Morning. While regular news might report on a bridge collapse, Sunday Morning might feature a story about the longest-standing bridge and the history behind it.

The Geographic Center Story

In the episode I saw, they told a story about the geographical center of North America. This story starts with the town of Rugby, North Dakota. Since the 1930s, they’ve claimed to be the geographical center of North America. There’s even a Geographical Center Historical Society there.

So how did they determine this? An employee at the U.S. Geological Survey cut out a shape of North America, like a big puzzle block, and tried to balance it on the head of a pin. If you remember your physics, the balance point where an object won’t tip over is its center of mass — and he found that point to be in Rugby, North Dakota. So, Rugby staked its claim.

Enter the Trademark Dispute

Now the story gets more interesting — and here’s where trademarks come in. A bar called Hanson’s Bar in Robinson, North Dakota, about 100 miles south of Rugby, decided to challenge Rugby’s claim. The bar’s owner used some string on a globe and determined that Robinson was actually the center. He looked into whether Rugby had trademarked “Geographical Center” — they had, but the registration had lapsed. So, the bar owner filed his own trademark application and got a federal registration for “Geographical Center.”

Naturally, Rugby wasn’t happy about that.

Meanwhile, a geography professor at the University of Buffalo ran longitude and latitude data through a computer program and determined that neither Rugby nor Robinson was the true center — it was actually a town called Center, North Dakota. Coincidentally, Center was named for being the center of its county, and it just so happens to be the geographical center of North America as well.

So, Center put up a monument claiming that title, and at the end of the CBS segment, it was mentioned that the trademark was eventually “given back” to Rugby.

Digging Into the Trademark Details

Curious, I looked up what really happened through the Trademark Office records. Here are some key takeaways and lessons.

Lesson 1: Don’t Rely on a Basic Trademark Search

When I initially searched for “Geographic Center of North America,” nothing came up. That was odd. I tried just “Geographic Center.” Still nothing. But after reviewing the segment again, I realized the mark wasn’t “Geographic” — it was “Geographical.” Basic trademark searches only pick up identical words, so you can easily miss similar or confusing marks.

Moral of the story: don’t rely on a quick-and-dirty search. Marks don’t need to be identical to be problematic. A comprehensive trademark search is key — and that’s something I can help with.

Rugby’s Trademark History

Rugby filed a logo in 1965 and got it registered but let it lapse in 1989. They registered a new logo that same year, which was canceled in 1997. Likely, they let the first one go because they created a new version and didn’t care about the old one anymore.

In 1997, they filed for yet another logo and received a registration in 1998 for “chamber of commerce services, namely, promoting business and tourism in Rugby, North Dakota.” However, they failed to file the required Section 8 declaration and pay the maintenance fee 10 years later, so the registration was canceled.

So, Lesson 2: Always stay on top of maintenance filings and check your trademark status regularly — either yourself or through your attorney.

Hanson’s Bar Files a New Trademark

Hanson’s Bar filed its trademark application in 2015 for “Geographical Center of North America” in the class of services for “promoting recreation and tourism in Robinson, North Dakota.”

Here’s another important point: trademark examiners only compare your application to currently active registrations. Dead trademarks don’t block new ones. Since Rugby’s mark had lapsed, Hanson’s application wasn’t refused on confusion grounds.

However, Hanson’s application was initially refused for being “merely descriptive.” You can’t register a mark that just describes the function or purpose of your services. The examiner also noted that because the application was filed under “intent to use,” it couldn’t be transferred to the Supplemental Register — which is an option for descriptive marks that aren’t eligible for the Principal Register.

Lesson 3: Know the Difference Between Registers

There are two registers for trademarks — the Principal Register (with stronger protection) and the Supplemental Register (with limited protection for descriptive marks). If you’re not already using the mark, you can’t go onto the Supplemental Register. So Hanson’s Bar filed an “allegation of use” with a photo, and then their mark was allowed — on the Supplemental Register.

Rugby’s Comeback

Once Rugby learned about this, they filed a new trademark application for their logo and got it allowed. Then, they filed a cancellation proceeding against Hanson’s Bar, arguing they’d been using the mark for decades and that Hanson’s mark was confusingly similar.

Hanson’s Bar defended itself, saying Rugby’s mark was deceptive because Rugby isn’t actually the center of North America. They also claimed they offered to co-exist, but Rugby rejected the offer. They argued consumers wouldn’t be confused because the towns are over 100 miles apart.

Still, after some back and forth, Hanson’s Bar filed a “surrender for cancellation.” We don’t know why — maybe Rugby paid them, or maybe Hanson’s Bar decided it wasn’t worth the legal fight. But in the end, Rugby reclaimed their logo trademark, and Hanson’s Bar’s mark was canceled.

Takeaways and Lessons

There are quite a few trademark lessons here:

• Always do a comprehensive trademark search.

• Don’t let your registrations lapse — pay your fees and file the necessary documents.

• Understand the difference between descriptive and distinctive marks.

• Learn when and how to use the Supplemental Register.

• Registered rights are stronger than common law rights — but common law rights still matter.

• If your mark is refused or challenged, there are ways to fight back — or negotiate.

And if you want to watch the TV segment that inspired all this, just search for “CBS Sunday Morning Geographical Center of North America.” It doesn’t go into the trademark details like I do — but that’s the fun part if you ask me!

I’m Adam Diament, and until next time, keep on inventing.