How Did This TM Get Approved?

[Whogister]

I was in the process of developing a website with a local keyword domain name. I did a TM search and couldn't believe that the keyword I wanted to use was actually an approved TM.

For example purposes I am going to say the keyword is: MICHIGAN HEATING AND COOLING

The person that owns the .COM has that keyword phrase TM'd. In the footer of their website it reads:

"Michigan Heating and Cooling is a registered protected trademark; any use of this name is strictly prohibited by law."

So basically this guy has a legal monopoly of the Heating and Cooling business in Michigan now? A business owner located in Michigan that provides heating and cooling products/services to people in Michigan is going to need to use that keyword to advertise his business.

Also, Michigan Heating and Cooling isn't the name of the business that owns the TM. On the .COM site it says it's a division of their main company (a different name).

So because of this I should stay away from the other domain extensions of the keyword? What about using it in my website meta tags? Site description? Should I just move to Idaho?

I was always under the impression that geographical with generic terms were not allowed to be registered.

 

[SearchEngineZ]

A quick USPTO trademark search found:

Michigan Apples
Michigan Clinic
Michigan Home Theater

and so on...

 

[Dave_Z]

A quick USPTO trademark search found:

Michigan Apples
Michigan Clinic
Michigan Home Theater

and so on...

He he, the OP stated the terms are examples.

(As usual, nobody can really tell without knowing the specific terms.)

Whogister, an answer to your first question is not necessarily. Assuming the actual trademark contains the state name and some common words, that's likely for a very limited and specific use in the marketplace. Denver Mattress, as a limited example, is a registered TM for "retail store services featuring mattresses and bedding" (clever wording, IMO) throughout the country aside from Denver, CO.

Additionally, a trademark aims to prevent confusion in the marketplace rather than grant carte blanche use to its holder. Of course, that won't stop some TM holders from believing otherwise – especially if they can afford to push the issue.

All in all, it depends on the TM holder.

Geographic terms on their own generally can't be registered as TMs. Used with other words, however, they can become marks under limited circumstances. As always, it depends on context.