In the 1990s, Harley-Davidson tried to register the "potato-potato-potato" sound of its V-twin engine as a trademark. The application was eventually withdrawn after fierce opposition from Honda and Kawasaki, and the sound was never registered — but the attempt tells you most of what you need to know about how the company treats brand protection. If Harley will fight for a sound, it will fight for anything else in its architecture, and Wisconsin's trademark landscape is built around that same intensity in a few key industries: motorcycles, dairy, and beer.
Harley-Davidson's Licensing Machine
Harley-Davidson, founded in Milwaukee in 1903, holds registrations for its name, its eagle logo, and an extensive merchandise licensing program spanning Class 25 (clothing), Class 14 (jewelry), and Class 16 (printed goods) alongside its core Class 12 (motorcycle) marks. That licensing program is one of the largest in the consumer goods industry, generating hundreds of millions in royalties annually from hundreds of licensed manufacturers — which means the brand architecture is registered across dozens of classes, and the company actively pursues infringement to protect the value of that program. Selling Harley-branded merchandise without a license, regardless of scale, constitutes infringement; the company has pursued both small sellers and large manufacturers in federal court.
Wisconsin's Cheese Register Has Layers
Wisconsin produces more cheese than any other state, and it has built genuine trademark infrastructure around that identity. The Wisconsin Milk Marketing Board oversees the "REAL WISCONSIN CHEESE" certification mark — a registered collective mark certifying origin and quality — while individual producers like Sargento (Plymouth) and Land O'Lakes' Wisconsin operations hold their own Class 29 registrations. For a new artisan cheese brand: file your own name in Class 29 first (note that "Wisconsin" alone is descriptive and can't be a standalone mark), and separately contact the Wisconsin Milk Marketing Board if you want to use the certification mark — the two registrations are independent of each other.
Miller's legacy footprint: Milwaukee was once the brewing capital of America, and even though major production has consolidated, Miller Brewing's (now Molson Coors) Class 32 registrations remain active — MILLER LITE, MILLER HIGH LIFE, and "The Champagne of Beers" are all federally registered. A growing Wisconsin craft brewery scene has layered new Class 32 filings on top of that legacy register, and "Milwaukee" combined with any beer-related term faces both descriptiveness resistance at the USPTO and confusion risk against existing Milwaukee-branded beer marks.
Kohl's and SC Johnson Round Out the Register
Kohl's Corporation (Menomonee Falls) and SC Johnson (Racine) both maintain substantial trademark portfolios that ripple into adjacent consumer categories — retail services and household products, respectively — and any new Wisconsin consumer brand should be aware of their presence when clearing names in Class 35 or the various household-goods classes.
Wisconsin's own registration system, under Wisconsin Statutes Chapter 132, costs about $15 per class — one of the lowest state fees in the country — but covers only intrastate commerce. For Harley-Davidson, the dairy cooperatives, and the state's other national and global consumer brands, that's irrelevant to their actual business; for a new Wisconsin brand with any interstate commerce, federal USPTO registration is the required foundation, and the dairy certification mark system is a good reminder that federal collective and certification marks provide tools state registration simply can't replicate for origin and quality assurance programs.
Explore Wisconsin trademark filings and top trademark holders in the state.