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If my trademark is rejected for being geographicaly misdescriptive, can I do anything?

Founder & Trademark Attorney

The options are limited. Unlike most other office action grounds, Section 2(e)(3) cannot be overcome through acquired distinctiveness, and the mark cannot be placed on the Supplemental Register.

The viable responses are: arguing that the geographic term is not of primary significance in the mark, arguing that consumers would not view the geographic origin as a material characteristic of the goods, or removing or modifying the geographic element so that the mark no longer implies a false geographic origin.

If the argument fails and the refusal is confirmed, the only path to registration is filing a new application with a modified mark that does not carry the deceptive geographic implication.

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