For 120 years, people in Ohio knew their bank simply as “OV.”

Not any more. The bank was forced to change names by one of their competitors.

The ‘Ohio Valley National Bank’ was founded in 1887 and had been doing business under the same name since it was founded over 120 year ago. Impressive, especially considering that no other bank in its market had used its original name for more than 11 years.

Unfortunately for Ohio Valley National Bank, another area bank decided to change names and become ‘Ohio Valley Bank’ in 1994. The new ‘OVB’ immediately applied for trademark protection with the United States Patent & Trademark Office. (Snapshot of the USPTO trademark here.)

Fact: When the USPTO looks at a trademark application, there is a five-year period where if no one contests the trademark, it is approved and uncontestable from then on. It doesn’t matter if someone had been using that same brand name for hundreds of years. It may not be fair, but it’s the law.

According to an article in the Evansville Courier Press, this is apparently what happened to the original ‘OV.’ The original ‘OV’ probably assumed its trademark was safe since it was first and had been using its name forever. The new ‘OVB’ filed for a federally registered trademark in 1994, but the original ‘OV’ never contested the application. Five years passed and… Ooops.

The original ‘OV’ was then faced with a choice. They could either choose to share their name with another financial institution in the same market, or they could change names themselves.

The original ‘OV’ chose to modify its name, dropping the words “national” and “bank” as it became ‘Ohio Valley Financial Group.’

Reality Check: This is a cautionary tale to all those financial institutions who erroneously presumed they safely owned their trademarks – forever. Wrong. Just because you’ve had your name for 100+ years doesn’t mean anything – even from the USPTO’s perspective.

It is your burden and responsibility to protect your trademarks, and if you let someone else use your name (or something similar) for too long, you will forfeit your right — forever — to exclusively use that name.

Bottom Line: If you haven’t federally protected your trademark yet, get started today. You have to attack everyone who threatens the integrity of your trademark(s). Getting litigious may not be your natural instinct, but letting anyone share your trademark(s) is the same thing as saying, “I don’t care if these assets erode and their value depreciates.”

(*Dislcaimer: If you have questions concerning financial trademarks, please consult an experienced trademark attorney.)

Consider yourself on notice: If you are a bank or credit union using anything resembling this orange dot…

…look out. Orange circles may be enough for ING to take you to court next.

Last Wednesday, ING filed a trademark-infringement complaint in U.S. District Court against PNC Bank over use of orange balls.

Earlier this year, PNC launced a Gen-Y program called Virtual Wallet. The Virtual Wallet website uses orange circles for its main interface.

In its complaint, ING asserts that “a significant segment of the website prominently utilizes the color orange and orange-ball designs that are confusingly similar to ING Direct’s orange ball.” ING is seeking damages of greater than three times the amount that PNC has made using the orange ball logo, including interest.

ING filed for trademark protection on its orange ball design back in November, 2000. ING’s trademark application is specifically for orange circles “that are totally or partially shaded.” Since then, orange has become the predominant color of its Web site, retail banking locations and advertisements, according to the complaint.

PNC filed trademark applications for 9 different orange circle designs back in June, and two more in August.The last one was filed August 12, 2008, one day before ING filed its lawsuit.

PNC’s most recent trademark application is for “Punch the Pig,” a creative savings game. It says the mark “consists of a stylized orange circle with a stylized white piggy bank in the center and two blue concentric circles in the center of the stylized piggy bank.”

Key Question: Is ING Direct entitled to exclusive use of orange circles – used in any capacity – within the financial industry?

What do you think?

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