Hijacking Yosemite!!!

Tom Taylor · Dec 26, 2014

Get a whiff of this: http://www.eastbayexpress.com/oakland/hijacking-yosemite/Content?oid=4151574

Thomas

snapguy · Dec 26, 2014

get 'em

I think I will trademark "digital camera" and not let anybody use it. Analog uber alles.

Sirius Glass · Dec 26, 2014

They can claim whatever they want but the names are historical and that has precedence and province over their claims. How is North Delaware going to stop the use of those names?

SchwinnParamount · Dec 26, 2014

Delaware North? a lot of scumbag gangsters. I will have lost all faith in our judicial system if these people are awarded ownership of place names simply because they've been contractors that provide tourist services.
That would be like a new contractor at Microsoft who spends 6 months helping to test new Office 365 code and then laying claim to the name "Microsoft Word" simply because he saw some source code.

frank · Dec 26, 2014

Yeah that smells. Hope their claim of copyright is rejected.

Nodda Duma · Dec 26, 2014

If you dig further you'll find that the original trademark claims were granted about 25 years ago. The claims have been continuously renewed several times since, so the National Park Service is about 25 years too late in objecting and standing on very shaky legal ground in contesting those grants.

The trademarks likely prevented similarly named establishments from competing with the NP's concession services, and has arguably resulted in increased revenues to the National Park over the years without competition from similarly-named hotels that would have existed without the trademarks.

Shame on the National Park service for not voicing their concern when the trademark claims were filed, and personally I hope they don't waste millions of taxpayer dollars fighting for what's very likely a lost cause. By the U.S.'s own trademark laws, the nation does not own the rights to the trademarked names. Hopefully the Rule of Law still means something in this country.

snapguy · Dec 26, 2014

same

Are these the same people who were/are selling prints cut out of books as pricey photo prints of Ansel Adams' Yosemite images?

Trail Images · Dec 26, 2014

After many years in the business world and having companies I worked for bought, sold, merged, bankrupted, overtaken, and corporate raided, nothing surprises me from the corporate arena.
Here's hoping this backfires on the raiding group, but just outright hoping never seems to really win battles in court.

SchwinnParamount · Dec 26, 2014

Whether the trademark claims were originally filed 25 years ago or yesterday, it doesn't change the fact that corporate pukes from the gambling industry are trying to steal important place names simply because they've been allowed to conduct business in those places. Was the NP Service asleep at the wheel? Sure. The fact of the matter is that the NP Service believes they still own the place names. That tells me that whatever transpired 25 years ago did not transfer ownership of the place names. In any case, a trademark is not a copyright.

Sirius Glass · Dec 26, 2014

snapguy said:
Are these the same people who were/are selling prints cut out of books as pricey photo prints of Ansel Adams' Yosemite images?

No they cut the photographs out of calendars not book.

Nodda Duma · Dec 26, 2014

The trademark claims weren't just filed 25 years ago, they were *granted*. By the U.S. Trademark Office. Which means the federal government itself gave the company ownership of the names a quarter-century ago.

And now the Feds say "oh we have a problem with that" decades after signing off on the transfer? Sounds like typical government tactics to me: don't care when it makes them money, but it's a serious problem when they have to pay up (and they use uninformed public opinion to get what they want!)

Guess you have to ask yourself if you believe in the Rule of Law or the Rule of Do Whatever Feels Right.

http://trademarks.justia.com/737/39/the-ahwahnee-73739312.html

Bruce Osgood · Dec 26, 2014

This is my post I cut and pasted from Large Format on the same subject Hijacking Yosemite!!!

I read an article that a Bill pending in the US congress, called the "Sportsman Bill" and had no opposition because it was innocuous, was being amended to include a revision of the National Parks law that would return all National Parks land to the State, who could do with it whatever they wanted. The amendment was being prepared by a Texas Senator named Ted Cruz.

Sirius Glass · Dec 26, 2014

Bruce Osgood said:
This is my post I cut and pasted from Large Format on the same subject Hijacking Yosemite!!!

I read an article that a Bill pending in the US congress, called the "Sportsman Bill" and had no opposition because it was innocuous, was being amended to include a revision of the National Parks law that would return all National Parks land to the State, who could do with it whatever they wanted. The amendment was being prepared by a Texas Senator named Ted Cruz.

Yet another way for a politician to rip off the country for the good of their personal friends. It is to bad that his typical supporter does not understand what he is really doing.

gone · Dec 26, 2014

I can't see any of this going anywhere (other than padding the pockets of the lawyers, who will stretch it out for as long as possible). It could be argued that place names that are in the public lexicon over a long period of time are free usage. I'm sure the Supreme Court would rule it this way. Just like someone couldn't copyright peanut butter or baked potato(e?). Just because the government awards a copyright does not mean it can survive a court challenge.

MattKing · Dec 26, 2014

Trademarks aren't copyrights.

Ken Nadvornick · Dec 26, 2014

momus said:
It could be argued that place names that are in the public lexicon over a long period of time are free usage.

Just like someone couldn't copyright peanut butter or baked potato(e?).

I thought I read that Harley Davidson once tried to trademark their "trademark" gasoline engine rumble.* And did Kodak ever try to trademark their very specific and highly recognizable red and yellow color combination?

Ken

* Not sure how that would work for the future of totally silent electric motorcycles...

Theo Sulphate · Dec 26, 2014

Ken Nadvornick said:
I thought I read that Harley Davidson once tried to trademark their "trademark" gasoline engine rumble.* And did Kodak ever try to trademark their very specific and highly recognizable red and yellow color combination?

Ken

* Not sure how that would work for the future of totally silent electric motorcycles...

Harleys make a distinct sound because of their engine design: the crankshaft has a single pin that connects both pistons and this necessitates an uneven firing order.

A totally silent motorcycle is a very bad idea. Also, most bikers like the sound of their bike

For Yosemite, could a claim be made that the original granting of the trademark was not valid, being that some of the names were in use, in the public domain, since the 1800's? Regardless, Delaware North are jackasses and I'd get rid of them and just choose new names for these places.

Steve Smith · Dec 26, 2014

MattKing said:
Trademarks aren't copyrights.

Just what I was going to say.

Ken Nadvornick said:
I thought I read that Harley Davidson once tried to trademark their "trademark" gasoline engine rumble.

Mobile phone company T Mobile once decided that only they had the right to use a particular shade of magenta on their logo and set their lawyers on anyone using a similar colour.

Steve.

Dr Croubie · Dec 26, 2014

Steve Smith said:
Mobile phone company T Mobile once decided that only they had the right to use a particular shade of magenta on their logo and set their lawyers on anyone using a similar colour.

The company I used to work for had a "distinctive red stripe" down its product, and was at a trade-show where it noticed another competing product with a similar "distinctive red stripe".
Not only did they manage to convince the hosts of the tradeshow to shut down their competitors exhibit, but they also threatened to take them to court because they had (allegedly) trademarked that "distinctive red stripe" to get an injunction on selling that product in the EU. And I think they won because said "red stripe" including the exact hue of red was a registered trademark.

Ken Nadvornick · Dec 26, 2014

Theo Sulphate said:
A totally silent motorcycle is a very bad idea. Also, most bikers like the sound of their bike

[Brief off-topic...]

But they can do things no internal combustion vehicle can do. Wrangle a ride in a Tesla Roadster. I did. The owner came to a dead stop on a freeway on-ramp, slyly glanced over at me with a prescient grin, and quietly asked "Are you ready?" I nodded, and he stepped on the accelerator. Holy freaking crap! I mean HOLY FREAKING CRAP!

Up until that moment a skeptic, in three seconds I knew with absolute certainty that the internal combustion era will die. And not for greenhouse reasons. As he braked sharply to merge into traffic, there was only total silence but for the sound of the wind whooshing by...

[End off-topic.]

Ken

Theo Sulphate · Dec 26, 2014

Ken Nadvornick said:
[Brief off-topic...]

But they can do things no internal combustion vehicle can do. Wrangle a ride in a Tesla Roadster. I did. The owner came to a dead stop on a freeway on-ramp, slyly glanced over at me with a prescient grin, and quietly asked "Are you ready?" I nodded, and he stepped on the accelerator. Holy freaking crap! I mean HOLY FREAKING CRAP!

Up until that moment a skeptic, in three seconds I knew with absolute certainty that the internal combustion era will die. And not for greenhouse reasons. As he braked sharply to merge into traffic, there was only total silence but for the sound of the wind whooshing by...

[End off-topic.]

Ken

Sorry, Ken, I'm not impressed with the Tesla's acceleration: I have fast cars and I've been in cars faster than the Tesla. As for quiet, I love the sound of a nice combustion engine, especially ones with 12 cylinders. The Tesla, and several people where I work have them, remind me of a video game, or an iPad, especially with that soul-less video console. If electric vehicles are our future, it will be so only because we will have succumbed to autonomous driverless cars - the joy of skillfully piloting one's own vehicle having been trumped by a population that prefers to travel while reading their smartphone.

At least we both agree on the uniqueness and provenance of glass-plate and other such images

SchwinnParamount · Dec 26, 2014

APUGuser19 said:
I just googled and found Yosemite is in California. Never was quite sure which western state it was exactly. But being that it is in California, I had already concluded California was beyond concern already. It's a shame, but I don't think there's any salvaging it.

Really? You had to use a search engine to discover that Yosemite is in California? Wow.

Ok, to be honest, I've been a west-coast man my whole life. Maybe there actually are people who don't see California/Oregon/Washington as the center of the universe.

SchwinnParamount · Dec 26, 2014

Theo Sulphate said:
Sorry, Ken, I'm not impressed with the Tesla's acceleration: I have fast cars and I've been in cars faster than the Tesla. As for quiet, I love the sound of a nice combustion engine, especially ones with 12 cylinders. The Tesla, and several people where I work have them, remind me of a video game, or an iPad, especially with that soul-less video console. If electric vehicles are our future, it will be so only because we will have succumbed to autonomous driverless cars - the joy of skillfully piloting one's own vehicle having been trumped by a population that prefers to travel while reading their smartphone.

At least we both agree on the uniqueness and provenance of glass-plate and other such images

What is faster?

Alan Klein · Dec 26, 2014

So I'm interested what does trademark rights grant them. Are these illegal unless the selling party pay them a commission? http://fineartamerica.com/art/all/ahwahnee+hotel/throw+pillows

Has the existing concessionaire being selling products under it s Trademark rights? What happens if another company becomes concessionaire. The existing concessionaire suddenly loses its right of the Trademark to sell products as well. Why should they give that right up if they own the Trademark?

Is this more complicated than it appears on the surface?

Truzi · Dec 26, 2014

SchwinnParamount said:
What is faster?

Here is one of many pages for Tesla specs:
http://www.zeroto60times.com/Tesla-Electric-Cars-0-60-mph-Times.html
While the obvious comparison would be a two-seat roadster, like a Corvette, and obviously one should choose something in the same price range, I thought Buicks would be more interesting. There are a couple fast ones listed on this site.
http://www.zeroto60times.com/Buick-0-60-mph-Times.html

Google can show you others - and more accurate specs than the above links (I was in a hurry).

Hijacking Yosemite!!!

Tom Taylor

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