The Astrocartography Petition: What It Is and How to Sign

The Astrological Association has launched a formal petition calling for the invalidation of Kristine Odegard's French trademark on the word "Astrocartography" — and for the blocking of her pending EU-wide application. Here's what the petition is, why it matters, and how to add your name.

What the Petition Is Asking For

1. Invalidation of the trademark currently registered in France
2. Blocking of the pending EU-wide trademark expansion application
3. Recognition that "astrocartography" is a generic descriptive term in the public domain

These are not purely symbolic asks. In EU trademark law, a formal opposition supported by evidence of prior generic use is a recognised legal challenge that can result in a trademark being invalidated or refused.

Who Launched It

The Astrological Association is one of the oldest professional bodies in Western astrology, founded in 1958. Its decision to formally oppose this trademark reflects the professional community's consensus that this registration crosses a line.

Why Your Signature Matters

This isn't a standard online petition where signatures generate a press release. In the context of a trademark opposition, signatures from professional astrologers serve as evidence of generic use.

When you sign as someone who uses, teaches, or practises astrocartography — using that word to describe a category of service, not a specific brand — you're contributing to the factual record that the term is generic. That record is exactly what a trademark opposition body weighs when determining whether a registration is valid.

Non-professionals can also sign. Signatures from students, enthusiasts, and the general public help demonstrate that the term is understood generically by the public at large — another relevant factor in trademark analysis.

The Timeline: Why Now

Trademark opposition processes have deadlines. The EU application creates a specific opposition window — typically three months from publication of the application — during which challenges must be filed. Acting now, while the EU application is still in process, is the most effective point of intervention. Challenging a trademark after it's already been registered EU-wide is possible, but significantly harder and more expensive.

How to Sign

Sign the Astrocartography Petition at the Astrological Association website.

Additional steps you can take:

• Share it widely — the broader and more international the response, the stronger the case for genericness
• Document your own prior use — if you've used the term professionally before 2025, in course materials, website copy, or published articles, archive that documentation. It may be relevant to formal opposition proceedings
• Reach EU-based astrologers — practitioners in France and other EU countries are most directly at risk and most important to mobilise

The Broader Principle

This petition isn't only about one word. It's about whether the technical vocabulary of any profession can be appropriated by a single practitioner and turned into a legal restriction on everyone else.

If a practitioner can trademark "astrocartography," what stops someone from filing for "solar return," "synastry," or "chart rectification"? The community's response to this case will establish norms and precedents for how such attempts are treated going forward.

For full background on the controversy, read our complete Astrocartography Trademark story. For the legal analysis of why the trademark is contestable, read Can 'Astrocartography' Be Trademarked?