Last August I posted that a credit union in Pennsylvania, Bessemer System FCU, filed a trademark application for “SWITCH 2”. On 2026-01-02, this intent-to-use (ITU) filing was approved for publication by USPTO. The official publication should come in a few weeks. Unlike EU or Japan, US is relatively relaxed about allowing the same word mark for different classes (goods & services), therefore the approval isn’t surprising.
It’s strange, however, that the word “switch” is never used on their website since at least 2021 (that’s the extent of my search on Internet Archive). So why are they grabbing 4 “SWITCH {xx}” trademarks (img 1 below)? Aside from “SWITCH 2”, the others are pretty generic, and seem only there to obfuscate the true intent. It’s awfully comical when one realizes that they abandoned their own “BESSEMER SYSTEM FEDERAL CREDIT UNION” trademark in 2019 (img 2).
Stranger still is that this small CU in PA felt the need to hire a high-powered NY law firm (~300 attorneys) to file a few straightforward trademark applications. Are they anticipating a legal tussle? Do they also have a David-vs-Goliath press release, which many reporters just love, ready to go?
It is instructive that Bessemer System FCU sued Fiserv, a Fortune 500 company, and settled out of court in 2024. Is another pay day what they’re angling for here?
Once the trademark is published, Nintendo will have 30 days to file an opposition. Let’s see if they will, or ignore it to avoid a trap.
[Originally posted on 2026-01-06 Pacific Time]
