This is a generic trademark filing, and y'all are acting as if they released all the info on it. These names can so easily be flat rides or simply nothing. Just calm down
TMs mean nothing nowadays, companies file them, left, right and centre for anything that may end up materialising into something. I mean, those two names are fine - generic enough?
I see these kinds of statements made nearly every time a new trademark is filed, and I'm not sure why because it's simply not true at all. Parks aren't wasting time filing trademarks on the off chance they might want to use the name at some point in the future. In order to be granted the trademark, they have to actually use the name in commerce or have the intent to use the name in the near future. For every trademark filed, there's a 6 month deadline for the company to file a "Statement of Use" (SOU). If they don't start using the name after that six month period is up, they can either file for an extension
(which isn't free) or abandon the mark. Here's the text from every Notice of Allowance once the mark is approved:
Below is a look at every single trademark Cedar Fair has filed for "amusement" use in the past 14 years - there's only 3 marks that have been abandoned, one of which because the ride is now gone. There's also one mark (The Ledge) that they still haven't used, but they're keeping alive by filing extension requests every six months:
Our favorite mark, Centurion, has a great big asterisk next to it because they continually filed extension requests on that mark for nearly 3 years to keep it alive, before finally reaching the limit of 5 extension requests and having to abandon the mark:
So no, they don't file trademarks "left, right and centre" for "anything" like flat rides or small additions. Typically only major attractions get a mark filed; things that they can plaster all over merchandise and sell in the park, just look at the goods and services listed in any of their filings from the past 5 years for evidence of that.
Additionally, some companies, like SeaWorld, will file multiple marks for the same ride while they're still in the development phase. Usually this is to have a backup name just in case one of the marks gets filed for opposition, which has happened in the past. I wouldn't be surprised if that's the approach Cedar Fair is taking with these marks, as they're both super generic and common terms, so if some other company thinks the mark is too close to theirs and might cause brand confusion, they can file a Notice of Opposition and Cedar Fair might not be able to use the name.
