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Roswell's new trademark has intergalactic appeal

The city of Roswell has a new trademark. You guessed it, the new logo cashes in on its ties to all things alien.

The mark is a dayglo green letter “R” with a spaceship casting a beam down into the character above the name “Roswell” in an alien-looking font.

It’s pretty good and I can certainly see why Roswell needs to go to the trouble of applying for a genuine trademark.

When I heard the news it made me remember a booklet I’d filed away for column material and this seems to be the appropriate time. OK, I hadn’t filed the dang thing away, it’s been on my desk at home for a few months.

For some reason at the office of the Chamber of Commerce, I received a copy of “The USA Trademark World in 2018.” Reading through it has been quite interesting and saved me from a sleepless night or two.

A trademark is a visual symbol or “mark” that is meant to denote ownership. It’s used to define quality and help protect a brand from those that might swoop in to take advantage of a company or brand’s success.

Some of the earliest trademarks are believed to have been made as far back as 5000 BC. Paintings of bison on the Lascaux caves in southern France had markings that may have represented ownership.

Pottery, art, swords, silver, furniture and even bread were “branded” with a trademark. The first US trademark act passed in 1870 but had to be repealed and retooled in 1879 because it was deemed unconstitutional. Averill Paints received the first trademark under the old act. It doesn’t say if they had to go back to the drawing board a decade later.

The first really big trademark and possibly the most recognizable was granted in 1893 to Coca Cola. Though it’s been revised several times, it has endured. Every business wishes for a trademark that will become that recognizable.

The book listed the 10 most valuable trademarks and I’m assuming they are talking worldwide since there is one I didn’t recognize. The list, in order, starting with most valuable include: Google, Microsoft, Wal-Mart, IBM, Vodafone, Bank of America, GE, Apple, Wells Fargo, AT&T. The only one I haven’t done business with is Vodafone.

McDonald’s, Coca Cola, Kraft, Lays and John Deere get points for their great use of color in my book. Meanwhile, Hershey’s, Disney, M&M’s and The North Face score big with solid black trademarks. There’s a chapter in the book dealing with whether to use color or not. Yes, the book concludes that color is better.

There is also a section that talks about registering nationally or internationally and the benefits of both. The news story says Roswell got its mark registered through the New Mexico Secretary of State so I’m guessing officials took a look at the cost of intergalactic registration and backed up. I’m betting that comes back to bite them sometime in the next millennium.

Karl Terry writes for Clovis Media Inc. Contact him at:

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