Name Explanation

Some people might wonder the meaning behind the blog name Rectanus Milwaukee.  Although it sounds like the aftermath of having Real Chili at bar time, it has more of a meaning.

I originally registered this site either when I was still in law school, or soon after I moved to Milwaukee, and as you will notice the subheading is a blog about Intellectual Property and the City of Milwaukee, which was my original intended format, and I might still write some articles about IP should I get the itch. 

Getting back to the name, "Rectanus" is the name of one of my favorite trademark law cases - United Drug Co. v. Theodore Rectanus.  It is a supreme court case from 1918.  Rectanus combined with Hannover Star Milling v. Metcalf, (the "Tea Rose" case) forms the grounding for the "Tea Rose-Rectanus Doctrine" which lays out the interplay between common law trademark rights and federal trademark registration rights.

In short, the Tea Rose-Rectanus Doctrine says that common law trademarks grow through actual use and therefore are territorially limited only to the locations that the common law trademark has been actually used.  However, federal registration gives the registrant constructive use everywhere in the country.

In Rectanus, Theodore Rectanus operated a drug store in Kentucky called "Rex Drug".  Unknowingly, United Drug Company started a chain of drug stores under the name of "Rex Drug" in New England, sometime after Theodore Rectanus' Kentucky drug store was founded.  Over time, United Drug registered the trademark REX and expanded their chains down the East Coast and eventually into Kentucky.  Meanwhile Rectanus didn't expand to any new locations, but had acquired a well known reputation through a greater part of Kentucky.  The Supreme Court found that United Drug could not enjoin Rectanus' use of Rex Drug as he had established trademark rights in that territory before the federal registration gave the trademark rights to United Drug in all other locations across the country. 

So now you know the meaning behind Rectanus Milwaukee, but Real Chili is certainly to blame as well...