The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office refused to accept Tennessee's attempt to register the logo for a trademark. The refusal, dated Tuesday, is due to the fact the logo is "primarily geographically descriptive," according to the federal office.
Essentially, that means the main significance of the logo is geographic. This type of symbol or item can't be trademarked, according to the federal office.
"It's to prevent someone from claiming exclusive rights to use a term that other people need to use to communicate that their product comes from Tennessee," said Wayne Beavers, shareholder with Nashville-based Patterson Intellectual Property Law.
Gov. Bill Haslam and the administration have faced sharp criticism both for the simplicity of the design — it's a white "TN" centered in a red box that's floating over a blue bar — and the $46,000 price tag for the project. Haslam and GS&F, the Nashville firm that designed the logo, have defended the choice — noting the design needed to be simple and that the state couldn't trademark the well-known tri-star symbol.
