Kennecott Trademark
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This page was last updated on February 6, 2026.
Kennecott's Ankh-symbol Trademark
Kennecott did not begin to use the ankh-circle-and-K symbol until the early 1950s. The original trademark application is dated June 12, 1953, and the trademark was awarded on November 3, 1954. A check of newspaper ads confirms the dates, with ads appearing starting in 1954 in newspapers for each of the divisions in Utah, Nevada, Arizona and New Mexico, and the main refinery in Maryland.
The trademark was awarded on November 3, 1954 for a 20-year period. It was renewed for another 20-year period on November 23, 1974. It was reassigned on May 15, 1981 when the company changed its name from Kennecott Copper Corporation, to just Kennecott Corporation. The trademark was allowed to expire on August 28, 1995.
The Ankh
When the two life-sized statues of Tut-ankh-Amen, the boy Pharaoh of the 18th Egyptian Dynasty (about 1334 B.C.), were found in the early 1920s by the archaeologists, they pictured vividly to modern eyes the connection, 6,000 years old, between the ever elusive riddle of the enduring life and copper, the earliest metal widely used by mankind.
The Egyptian mind was always persistently searching for ways of prolonging life. Copper, which possessed this quality of enduring life, had been used in the valley of the Nile since before the Bronze Age. Bronze, a combination of copper and tin, was introduced at about the same time that the Egyptian dynasties began, in about 3300 BC.
Copper made a strong appeal to the imagination of the people, both because of its usefulness and its endurance, and because in early days it was connected in thought with the "ankh" which was the symbol of the enduring life, throughout the thousands of years. The "ankh" connected Tut-ankh-Amen, who took the word as his middle name, to the alchemists of the 15th century A. D.
The "ankh" visualized to the young Pharaoh his hope of a second existence. He made ample provision looking toward the time, 3,000 years after his death, when he believed he would take up a new life and have need for comforts and ornaments of all kinds.
Much of the copper used in Egypt came from the Island of Cyprus, from which it received its name. It is significant that the "ankh", still denoting enduring life, was found in the person of the goddess Venus, who was said to have sprung from the foam of the sea and to have been wafted on the crests of the waves to Cyprus. Her symbol was the "ankh", the same symbol that was used centuries later by the students of the forbidden arts to represent copper.
Venus was an outgrowth of the same idea that found expression as Hathor, Egyptian goddess representing love, beauty, music, fertility, and joy. So there is an unbroken line, through the "ankh" of the enduring life in the earliest Egyptian days, the "ankh" as used in Tut-ankh-Amen's name, the "ankh" as symbol of Venus or Aphrodite, to the "ankh" which was the secret sign for copper used by the medieval alchemists as they delved into the forbidden arts. The "ankh" used by the alchemists in the 15th century A. D. to designate copper, is a duplicate of the "ankh" seen on the walls of various Pharaohs' tombs.
The ankh, shown as a cross with an elongated circular handle, was also seen as the key to everlasting life. This cross with elongated circular handle can been seen on the walls of the tombs of many Egyptian kings, with reliefs showing them holding this key to eternal life.
Kennecott Trademark
In an early use of the ankh "cross-circle" symbol for copper, in 1915, the Bingham & Garfield railroad issued passes with the cross-circle emblem, with the stylized B&G letters inside.
The first apparent use of a logo-like symbol by Kennecott was in January 1950, when local newspapers used the cross-circle-K emblem, but without the curved line on top. The ads announced a weekly radio program sponsored by Kennecott, presenting music by the Utah Symphony. This was only during January, with later ads for the radio program not including the symbol. More ads were seen in November 1950, with the same simplified symbol, with the ads with the symbol appearing on an irregular basis into 1952.
The Kennecott-sponsored radio programs continued into 1954.
Kennecott Copper Corporation applied for its trademark in June 1953 -- using the K inside a circle, with the lower cross, and the curved line on top.
In newspaper ads, the first use of the trademark was in August 1953, in the ad labeled as "Copper In Your Back Yard?"
(As a side note, there was a movement in mid 1953 by the non-profit Brand Names Foundation, promoting the importance of a company having a unique trademark. The major purpose was to promote brand name recognition, and to ensure quality products from established companies.)
It was during this same period in late 1953, that Kennecott launched its employee magazine, "Kennescope," with the first issue having a date of December 1953 and being mailed in early January 1954.
From a Kennecott newspaper ad from 1963.
Symbol Of Progress -- The "ankh," a circle with a cross attached below, the ancient Egyptian symbol of everlasting life, has special meanings in many fields — astronomy, botany, medicine, religion. With the addition of the letter "K" and the curved line over the circle, it means Kennecott - world's largest mine-producer of copper - whose trademark it is.
From a Kennecott newspaper ad from 1965.
The emblem used in the ad is called an "Ankh" - an ancient Egyptian symbol of enduring life - used by the copper industry to epitomize copper's rich heritage and bright future.
From a Kennecott newspaper ad from 1967.
Symbols are as old as history. Early Christians established their identity by drawing outlines of fish in the dust of Rome. Later, the Cross became the mark for Christianity, as did the Star of David for Judaism.
The development of today’s Kennecott symbol, the ankh, began about 5000 B.C. when Egyptians utilized a loop with a cross beneath it to signify enduring life.
Early astronomers improvised on the ankh to designate signs for the planets Venus, Mercury and Earth. The first alchemists continued the practice by using the sign for Venus as a symbol for copper, the sign for Mercury as a symbol for that metal, and subsequently as the symbol for all metals.
Because Kennecott is a world leader in the production of many metals, it adapted the basic Mercury design and inserted the letter “K” in the circle.
This modem symbol may be seen wherever Kennecott and its subsidiaries are producing copper, gold, silver, selenium, molybdenite derivatives, titanium, columbite or sulfuric acid.
A modern adaptation of the symbol for the planet Mercury was used by the seven original astronauts, Cooper, Shephard, Carpenter, Schirra, Glenn, Slayton, and the late Gus Grissom. The design, which substitutes a "7" for a "K" in the Kennecott ankh, signifies the Project Mercury.
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