Fresh from the fun with trademarks department arrives GHANACOLOGIST.COM, an application to register the mark with the USPTO.
The application was made by a resident of Ghana, the African nation, with an “intend to use” clause and for the following services:
On-line wholesale and retail store services featuring souvenirs; online website to promote Ghana tourism and travel; Concession stands featuring souvenirs; promoting tourism for different countries; blogs and information through online website for Ghana tourism and travel; tourism plans and reservations; travel and tourism; guided tour services; tourism advisory; online website for travel and tourism.
That sounds pretty awesome as the creative twist on “gynecologist” shows. But will the mark get approved for registration, or will it be deemed to be confusing?
We’ll see.
Meanwhile, the matching domain name, Ghanacologist.com, was registered in 2015 but it’s not resolving to a web site currently.
Why was the domain name Ghanacologist.com applied for as a trademark with the USPTO?
It’s an ongoing trend among owners of generic domain names, following the decision by SCOTUS on the Booking.com trademark application.
Since then, dozens of generic domain names have been applied to be registered as trademarks, inclusive of the TLD.
As of January 5th, 2021, BOOKING.COM is a registered trademark with the USPTO.
Will these applications become the new norm? Watch this video from NamesCon Online 2020.
Living in Japan, I was totally expecting this to be for Lotte Ghana milk chocolate bars.