One of the most important and difficult tasks faced by the US Board of Geographic Names is to review official placenames that may now be considered derogatory or offensive. For example, considerable work has been done to replace placenames that are considered insulting to Native Americans. Despite this positive and constructive goal, it is not always easy for US officials to change pre-existing toponyms. Government leaders in Phoenix, Arizona have found themselves facing just such an onomastic controversy with some residents lobbying for Piestewa Peak in honor of first Native American woman to die in combat serving the US military. To learn more about the situation, read this article at AZCentral.

In the Spanish system every person has two surnames, one from the father and one from the mother. Until now, the father’s surname was automatically placed in the first position. But after June 30th of 2017, every couple registering their child’s birth will have to decide which surname order to use. If they cannot reach a decision, the Civil Registrar’s office will chose for them. This new directive is expected to change the ranking of the most common family names in Spain, which is currently marked by a high frequency of a small number of names. In the future, these frequent surnames are now anticipated to become rarer.

Spanish women do not change their surnames at marriage. There has, however, always been a certain flexibility about which of their two surnames Spaniards give most prominence.

Artist Pablo Picasso, for example, chose his second surname, as did the actor Antonio Banderas. Their first surnames, Ruíz and Domínguez respectively, were obviously too commonplace.

Department of Natural Resources and Mines

Ten localities in the Australian state of Queensland containing the N-word will be discontinued and renamed due to racist connotations. The decision comes after community concerns about a place called N*****s Bounce led to its removal from all databases by the Department of Natural Resources and Mines in May. Other names that have been discontinued include Mount N*****, N***** Head and seven instances of the name N***** Creek, all located in north Queensland.
A department spokesman said the decisions would be published in the Queensland Government Gazette in late September.

The Department of Natural Resources said the racist names would not be completely eradicated because they still appeared on historical maps and plans, and would be retained in the Queensland Place Names Register.

It is in the process of accepting submissions from local councils, community groups and the public for appropriate names of the locations.

The Chinese government has published a list of overly religious names which will no longer be allowed in the household registration system in China’s Xinjiang region. The list includes names “with a strong religious flavor, such as Jihad” or with “connotations of separatism”. The region’s officials in April announced a list of banned baby names, including Islam, Quran, Mecca, Jihad, Imam, Saddam, Hajj, and Medina.

The order, announced during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, applies to children younger than 16, according to Radio Free Asia. Officials said the measure is part of an effort “to curb religious fervor” in the region. About half of the population of Xinjiang province belongs to the Uyghur ethnic minority group. Read this story at the Huffington Post for more details!

The powerful trade association that represents champagne makers has sued bloggers, water bottlers and haute couture fashion brands. They warned Apple against calling the gold iPhone “champagne” and spent three years making sure that no one but French producers could snag champagne-related wine URLs.

But recently the Comité Interprofessionnel du vin de Champagne scored an even more significant victory, when Europe’s highest court suggested in a nonbinding ruling that even products containing the French sparkling wine may not be able to use the name “champagne.”

The case in question involved “Champagne sorbet,” which Aldi sold at a number of its German stores in 2012. The dessert contained 12 percent champagne — the real kind, from France — but the Comité Champagne claimed the use of the protected name on a non-wine product risked cheapening it. Read this Washington Post article to find out the details and the likely future for the name “champagne”.

The story of how Google got its name is well-established: Larry Page was reportedly fascinated with googol, a number consisting of one and a hundred zeros, and ultimately decided to play on that word as the name for his Internet search company. But not all naming in Silicon Vally is that easy! To find out more about how tech companies come up with the right brands, click through to this article by Dominik Bosnjak at Android Headlines to learn how the pros approaching naming.

Nur Huda el-Wahabi CREDIT: Facebook

On the 14th of June, 2017, residents of London awakened to the horrific news that a raging inferno had engulfed a 24 story highrise in the middle of North Kensington. According to police reports 80 lives were lost in that tragedy. In a charity event to raise money for the surviving families, British author Philip Pullman has decided to name a character in his newest publication after one of the Grenfell Tower victims. Pullman raised £32,400 after teacher James Clements suggested the character should be named in memory of his former pupil Nur Huda el-Wahabi, who died in the tragedy.

The US Supreme Court ruled in June that disparaging words can receive trademark protection. It said rejecting disparaging trademarks violates the First Amendment, clearing the way for an Asian American rock group called the Slants to trademark its name – and for the Washington Redskins’ maligned moniker to stay protected as well. Now, two entrepreneurs offended by the n-word filed to trademark the epithet to keep it out of the hands of racists.

Steve Maynard, who also filed to trademark the Nazi swastika, said he wanted to quash hate by getting the rights to it. Will they succeed? Read on to find out what IP lawyers think of their chances.