The city manager of Bandon, Oregon, has warned a cheese company its attempts to trademark the name "Bandon" could have "international ramifications" as it could block Co Cork companies from importing into the US.
The warning follows a row between the company and residents who say the company, which closed operations in the city in 2000, has no right to a monopoly on using the word Bandon.
Mr Matt Winkel said the city authority intended to fight the Tillamook County Creamery Association in the courts, and said trademarking the name could affect food companies in Bandon, Co Cork, who wished to export to the US.
He has written to the company saying the attempt to monopolise the word Bandon could have "international implications".
A local lawyer has also lodged a complaint with the Justice Department alleging that Tillamook has no right to use the name under US laws which forbid misleading information about manufacturing location.
The company, which manufactures the Bandon cheese from a plant hundreds of miles from the town, has written to 10 local businesses that carry the Bandon name and has explained that it holds the trademark to the names Bandon and Bandon's'
A Tillamook spokeswoman, Ms Erica Simms, said the company only wanted to preserve its rights to the Bandon brand name, not the town name.