https://www.techdirt.com/articles/20190404/09293341937/city-councilman-who-really-wants-his-town-to-trademark-seal-trademarks-it-himself-as-stunt.shtml

It's always struck me as a little odd when cities and townships go out and trademark their logos and official seals. On the one hand, I get it. A city wants to control its branding so others can't abuse it, even if those methods for abuse could probably be combated by laws against fraud and so on. On the other hand, far too many city governments tend to wield these trademarks to stamp out criticism, parody, and political challengers.

That said, the rush to trademark city logos and seals also isn't universal. Florida's Marathon City, for instance, has a logo that has not been registered as a trademark. Marathon City Councilman Mark Senmartin has been making all kinds of noise about how the city should absolutely codify its logo as a trademarked city seal. But when the larger city government examined the issue, it found no reason to do so.