Delaware North loses bid, forces name changes

[Saxum]

The names of iconic hotels and other landmarks in the world-famous Yosemite National Park will soon change in an ongoing battle over who owns the intellectual property, park officials said Thursday.

The luxurious Ahwahnee Hotel will become the Majestic Yosemite Hotel, and Curry Village will become Half Dome Village, said park spokesman Scott Gediman.

The move comes in an ongoing dispute with Delaware North, the company that recently lost a $2 billion bid — the National Park Services largest single contract — to run Yosemite’s hotels, restaurants and outdoor activities.

Delaware North demands to be paid $51 million for the names and other intellectual property, and the New York-based firm filed a lawsuit last year, saying that when it won the contract in 1993, the park service required the company to buy the former concessionaire’s assets.

The company is really trying to milk all the money they can now they lost the contract:

 

Yosemite National Park — another name which is also claimed by Delaware North and remains in dispute — will stay put, Gediman said.

National Park Service says the names and other intellectual property are worth about $3.5 million, according to the government’s response to a lawsuit that Delaware North filed with the U.S. Court of Federal Claims.

There are several NFL player agents they could give lessons to in negotiations; too bad Yosemite National Park can't just sit out like players when under contract.

 

Link added: http://sanfrancisco.cbslocal.com/2016/01/14/yosemite-forced-to-change-of-its-iconic-hotels-and-landmarks/

[Rubes]

I'm surprised there hasn't been more discussion on this.

 

Bitter Contract Dispute Extends to Who Owns Yosemite Names - N.Y. Times, 3/1/16

 

The company, the government said in court filings, “has apparently embarked on a business model whereby it collects trademarks to the names of iconic property owned by the United States.”

 

Apparently Jacobs and Delaware North also own the trademark to "Space Shuttle Atlantis".

 

Oh, and:

 

Mr. Jensen said he understood the outcry over the trademarking of the park, but, he said, “we didn’t violate the law when we did that.”

Sarah Maxwell, an official at the trademark office, said the law barred trademarking national or state flags, but there was no explicit prohibition on the trademarking of other American icons.

 

 

Great job, Delaware North. Hey, you didn't break any laws, so you're safe.