Vail's attempt to trademark the name Park City just got delayed by dozens of individuals. On Monday, June 6, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office granted at least 25 different people more time to examine Vail's application to see if they may oppose it. KPCW's Renai Bodley has more.
Vail released this statement Monday evening to KPCW from Kristin Williams, VP of Mountain Community Affairs.
"I will reiterate that we support everyone’s right to look for trademark protection and everyone’s right to file any oppositions or issues to someone else’s trademark efforts. Fortunately, there is a very open and transparent process for seeking trademark protection and ways to work with others one-on-one to clarify any questions, as we have been doing. There are a number of other businesses in the community who own trademark registrations for names that include 'Park City' and at least one other business that owns a registration for just the words 'Park City.' We fully expect that our registration for 'Park City' in connection with the operation of a ski resort will not affect those businesses in any way.
To further emphasize this, we have offered to Park City Municipal to enter into agreements with any local business who uses Park City in their name and who is concerned that our trademark application may negatively impact their business, like I mentioned we are already doing with several local business owners. We would also be willing to work out a memorandum of understanding with the City to clarify any part of our trademark application and how it would be applied. We have also offered to work with the City to address any local confusion caused by our branding to make clear the distinction between the ski resort and the community."
Kristin Kenney Williams
Vice President, Mountain Community Affairs
