I have done some checking and can find no indication on the website of the Commonwealth of Kentucky Secretary of State’s office that deals with trademarks/service marks to the effect that Kentucky has “copyrighted” – not possible by the way – or trademarked its name. This is precisely the place I would expect such a notice, but it does not exist. See [ []] A search on the website shows, that there are currently 916 uses of the word “Kentucky” in trademarks such as “Kentucky Bourbon Nut Cake,” “Let’s Talk Kentucky Bourbon,” “Kentucky Opry, Inc.,” and “Kentucky Fairness Alliance.” Bourbon seems to come up a lot. I do note that some Kentucky state institutions have trademarked their names, which may include the word “Kentucky,” e.g., “Kentucky Lottery Corp., Inc.” and the names of some state parks, but the name Kentucky, standing alone, does not appear to be trademarked by anyone, nor do I, as a practicing lawyer, think it likely that it could be.

Lee