What’s Up With the M22 Trademark?

What’s up with the M22 trademark? John DiGiacomo explains trademark law, and how M22 can trademark a sign that’s in the public domain.

For more information about trademark services or how Revision Legal can assist with your trademark issue, please use the contact form on this page, or call us at 1-855-473-8474.

How Can a Company Trademark a Public Road Sign? Trademark Law Explained

M-22 is the designation for a Michigan state highway running through the northwestern Lower Peninsula — a stretch of road celebrated for its scenic beauty along Lake Michigan. M22, the lifestyle brand based in Traverse City, Michigan, has registered the M22 design as a trademark. This raises a question that trips up many business owners: how can a company trademark something that is already a public road sign?

Trademark Rights Come from Commercial Use, Not from the Thing Itself

Trademark law does not grant ownership of a word, symbol, or design in the abstract. It grants the exclusive right to use a mark in connection with specific goods and services in commerce. The Lanham Act, 15 U.S.C. § 1051 et seq., protects marks that are used in commerce to identify the source of goods or services and distinguish them from those of competitors. The fact that M-22 is a highway designation does not mean no one can use those characters as a trademark in connection with apparel, accessories, or tourism-related goods. M22’s trademark rights are limited to their specific stylized logo in their specific product and service categories.

The Spectrum of Trademark Distinctiveness

The USPTO evaluates trademark applications on a spectrum of distinctiveness. Fanciful marks are invented words with no prior meaning — the strongest category. Arbitrary marks use real words in an unrelated context — also strong. Suggestive marks hint at a quality without describing it directly — protectable without proof of secondary meaning. Descriptive marks that directly describe a feature of the goods are only protectable after acquiring secondary meaning. Generic marks — the common name for the goods themselves — are never protectable. M22’s stylized logo falls into the arbitrary category for a lifestyle apparel brand because the number-letter combination has no inherent connection to t-shirts or hats, making it a strong and protectable trademark in that commercial context.

Secondary Meaning and Acquired Distinctiveness

Even marks that begin as descriptive can acquire protection through extensive commercial use. When consumers come to associate a mark with a single source — rather than merely with the underlying concept — the mark has acquired secondary meaning or acquired distinctiveness under 15 U.S.C. § 1052(f). M22’s years of widespread commercial use, marketing, and brand building have likely generated substantial secondary meaning: when a consumer sees the M22 logo, they associate it with the M22 brand, not merely with a road sign.

What Trademark Registration Actually Protects

A federal trademark registration on the Principal Register provides: constructive notice to the entire United States of the claim of ownership; the legal presumption of ownership nationwide; the ability to bring suit in federal court; the right to use the registered trademark symbol; the ability to record the registration with U.S. Customs and Border Protection to block importation of infringing goods; and, after five years of continuous use, incontestability under 15 U.S.C. § 1065, which significantly limits the grounds on which the mark can be challenged.

Trademark Infringement and Likelihood of Confusion

Trademark infringement occurs when a third party uses a mark that is likely to cause consumer confusion as to the source, sponsorship, or affiliation of goods or services. Courts apply multi-factor tests — the Polaroid factors in the Second Circuit, the DuPont factors in the Federal Circuit — considering the similarity of the marks, the relatedness of the goods, the channels of trade, the strength of the plaintiff’s mark, evidence of actual confusion, and the sophistication of consumers. A competitor who began selling apparel with a similar circular logo and the text M-22 would very likely face a successful infringement claim from the M22 brand.

If you have questions about registering your brand as a trademark, defending against an infringement claim, or enforcing your trademark rights, Revision Legal’s trademark attorneys are available to help. Contact us through the form on this page or call 855-473-8474.

Trademark Enforcement: Monitoring and Policing Your Mark

Obtaining a trademark registration is only the first step in building and defending a brand. A registered trademark owner has an affirmative obligation to police their mark — to monitor the marketplace for infringing uses and take action against infringers. Courts have found that failure to police a trademark can result in abandonment, particularly if the trademark owner consistently allows third parties to use the mark without objection. The legal concept of acquiescence — where the trademark owner’s silence or inaction leads the infringer to believe the owner consented — can provide a partial or complete defense to an infringement claim when the owner waited too long to act. Trademark owners should implement a monitoring program that: (1) regularly searches the USPTO’s Trademark Electronic Search System (TESS) for new applications that are confusingly similar to their marks; (2) monitors major e-commerce platforms like Amazon and Etsy for infringing products; (3) tracks social media for unauthorized use of the brand; and (4) monitors Google search results for competing websites using similar marks or domain names.

Trademark Licensing and Brand Extension

For brands like M22 that have developed significant consumer recognition, trademark licensing offers an opportunity to extend the brand into new product categories without the capital investment of direct manufacturing. A trademark license agreement grants the licensee the right to use the mark in connection with specific goods or services, typically in exchange for a royalty. However, a trademark owner who licenses their mark must maintain quality control over the licensee’s use of the mark — a principle called quality control or “naked licensing.” Under 15 U.S.C. § 1064, a trademark can be cancelled for abandonment if the owner has licensed it without adequate quality control, because the mark no longer serves its core function of indicating a single consistent source. A well-drafted trademark license agreement should address: the specific goods and services covered by the license; quality standards and the licensor’s right to inspect; the territory of the license; royalty terms and reporting obligations; and termination provisions that allow the licensor to revoke the license if quality standards are not maintained.

International Trademark Protection

A U.S. federal trademark registration provides nationwide protection within the United States, but it provides no protection in other countries. Trademark rights are territorial — a trademark owner must register separately in each country where they want protection. For brands that sell internationally or that are vulnerable to foreign counterfeiting, the Madrid Protocol provides a streamlined mechanism to seek trademark registration in multiple countries through a single international application filed with the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO). If you are building a brand with international market potential, developing an international trademark strategy early — before counterfeiters establish themselves in key markets — is significantly less expensive than trying to displace entrenched infringers after the fact.

If you have questions about registering your brand as a trademark, monitoring and enforcing your trademark rights, or licensing your mark, Revision Legal’s trademark attorneys can help. Contact us through the form on this page or call 855-473-8474.