"Certified Public Manager®" Now Trademark Protected
By Jack Lemons
National CPM Consortium Administrator
cpmconsort@aol.com
As of early September 2003, the United States Patent and Trademark
Office issued Registration Number 2,760,841 for "certified
public manager®" the service mark of the National Certified
Public Manager® Consortium.
Initiated in August 2001 in response to the possibility that other
organizations could market management development programs called
"certified public manger," the Consortium sought to protect
the term "certified public manger“" for the exclusive
use of the Consortium and the programs accredited by the Consortium.
The letters "CPM" cannot be trademarked unless they are
part of graphic containing unique elements such as GE or IBM. Other
organizations, for example, using "CPM" are property managers
and purchasing managers.
At the annual meeting in Charleston, South Carolina, a Memorandum
of Agreement drafted jointly by the Consortium and AACPM President-elect
Ron Buchholz was adopted by the Consortium Board of Directors and,
subsequently, approved by the Academy’s House of Delegates.
Although the trademark registration is in the name of the Consortium,
this agreement authorizes unrestricted use of "certified public
manager" by the Academy, accredited programs and those who
earn the CPM designation.
Protecting "certified public manger®" as unique
to Consortium accredited programs has already resulted in one management
training program changing the name of its program in response to
a letter pointing out that "certified public manager®"
is a registered trademark and they were not authorized to use it.
Both the AACPM and the Consortium are encouraged to use the symbol
® following Certified Public Manager in all print materials.
Damages against an infringer will be much more difficult to obtain
if the ® symbol is not used. The Consortium is now in the process
of changing all written materials from the ™ symbol to the
® symbol. The AACPM and the Consortium are also authorized to
write "Registered in the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office"
or "Reg. U.S. Pat & Tm Office" on materials.
By protecting "certified public manager“" the credibility
of the CPM credential each graduate of an accredited CPM program
earns is ensured via the accreditation and continuing accreditation
standards of the Consortium.
Although the trademark remains in effect for ten years (9 September
2013), an affidavit of continued use must be filed between the fifth
and sixth years. Copies of the Certificate of Registration have
been distributed to members of the AACPM Board of Directors and
the Consortium Executive Council to insure that the affidavit is
filed on time (between 9 September 2008 and 9 September 2009).
Thanks to Consortium Past-Chair Howard Balanoff of Texas who provided
the funds to pay the legal fees for the trademark work.
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