The New Orleans bulletin. [volume] (New Orleans [La.]) 1874-1876, 1874-11-04
Invalid Trade Nsrks,
m. Y. Journal Of Commerce. !


The right to the exclusive use Of geogra-
phical name Is trademark has been fire.
quently contested in the courts, with the result
Of estsblishino the general rule that such
names cannot thus be converted into private
The exceptions are, however, inn
portant The employment of recognized
geographical name-that is, the name of q
city, county, town, or other political d.
vision-cannot be monopolized by one resi-
dent to the exclusion of other resi- ents of
the same place, but as against nom
residents the appropriation is good. If q
Paterson silk manufacturer or engine builder,
for example, adopts the name Paterson" as
q trademark, Newark manufacturer cannot
use it, but any other Paterson maker may. An
English case seems to take q minute ad-
ditional distinction, namely: Paterson is a
city, legally known as such, but suburban
railway station. within the city limits, is
named ON the Erie Railway timetables, and
otherwise popularity known as Lakeview,
although there is no political division of that
name. According to the English precedent
in the '.Glenfeld Starch" case, the name
as q trademark, while that of Patterson y
would be subject to the limitation already
mentioned.
The rule thus established, though strongly
supported by equitable principles, neverthe'
less appears to have its hardships. The man
ufacturer first using the trademark, and giving
it q reputation, may be compelled to share
the profit Of it, and perhaps finally see il
ruined, by inferior makers springing uE
around him. An illustration is at hand in the
case Of an uptown tradesman in this city,
who obtained widespread notoriety by ad
veltising, and now unwillingly shares it with
two or three other tradesmen OF the same
name, who have taken stores on sach side O.
him and Immediately contiguous. But
much more curious case has arisen in Penn
sylvania, by the application OF the rule to thu
trademark of the Glendon Iron Company
The word g Glendon," it appears, was an orig
inal concourse Of let .ers formed by the com
pany ITSELF and appriated as a trademark to-
stamping pig-iron in 1874. In 1867 Dor
rough was Incorporated, including the irol
works within it's limits, and taking Glendon q
its geographical and political name.
Subsequently another iron company wa
established there, adopting the name "Glen
don" as trade mark. The Supreme Court c
PENNSYLVANIA refused to enjoin the new com
parry, saying that when the borough was in
corporated the original owners Of the trad
mark lost their exclusive property in it, and
became the common property OF the residents
We designate this judgment as contiscaton
for really, we can call it by no other name
however necessary it may have been for tn
court, in following out legally established prin
ciples, to declare such result. Prlvat
property, it seems, may sometimes be takel
away without compensation, in order to leav
it open for public use. 1t behooves the owner
of trademarks to see that they are not thu
taken for geographical or political purposes
and We suppose that, allo wing the Pennsylvania
precedent to be good law, they could proven
it by timely application for an injunction
against such an appropriation of privat
property.