Is it legal to trademark a geographical location name?

[burgerman]

Is it possible to trademark a city name or a popular geographical area? At first I didn't think so but then I searched the US trademark database and found a US geographical location name that is trademarked by a foreign company. Their service has nothing to do with the geographical area, it just happens to have the same name. I was surprised to see it was trademarked. I have a plan to create a geodomain web site - if I were to register the domain name, would I get in trouble legally? The geodomain website would not be related to the foreign company's service.

 

[domaingenius]

I would guess that the trademark is distinctive , i.e. it is not simply ,for example, New York, but say nEw yORk or some other distinction like a background or colour. Is it ?

DG

 

[jberryhill]

http://www.kraftafh.com.au/images/products/Cheese/phillyCreamCheese2kg.jpg

I don't know how many people think that Kraft Philadelphia brand cream cheese comes from Philly, but as long as the geographic term is (a) not merely descriptive and (b) not deceptively mis-descriptive, then it functions as a mark.

So, yes, you can have a "PARIS" casino in Nevada. That does not confer a monopoly in the underlying term "Paris" used as a reference to the well-known city by that name in Texas.

 

[fab]

if I were to register the domain name, would I get in trouble legally? The geodomain website would not be related to the foreign company's service.

If you use the GEODaomain for the GEODomain, then your alright. If you use it for the marks purpose you aren't.
For example if NorthDakota is a popular clothing brand, then you can't use it for a purpose similar to the clothing brand's products, but using for describing North Dakota is fine.