The Former Ahwahnee Hotel (Yosemite)

[drm]

Have folks heard about this? Due to a trademark dispute with the former concessionaire the name of this classic national park lodge has been changed to Majestic Yosemite Lodge.

From what I read, the NPS forced a concessionaire to buy the trademark to the name with the concession. When that concessionaire later left the scene, they still owned the trademark and there was some dispute about what the NPS should pay to get it back.

As far as I read the concessionaire did not demand the hotel stop using the name, the park service made that call when it seemed they (or a newer concessionaire) would not be immediately buying it.

I'm no great fan of concessions with public facilities, but this one seems to be as much or more the fault of the NPS if in fact they did force the previous concessionaire to buy the trademark. The NPS should have actually insisted that it keep the trademark. Presumably they could get more cash from the transaction. Or maybe Congress forced it somehow?

If anybody has more details and thinks I got some of the above wrong (or has the time to do more detailed research), please enlighten us all. I'm kind of in a rush this week as I'm going backpacking in Yosemite next week!

[Bosterson]

You. Are. Kidding. Me.

The company said that it had been required to purchase “the assets of the previous concessionaire, including its intellectual property, at a cost of $115 million in today’s dollars” when it took over operations in 1993, spokeswoman Lisa Cesaro said.

...The National Park Service has said that rights to the names were never part of Delaware North's original deal, and that the new concessions contract with Aramark makes clear that the names will not be sold this time either, Gediman said.

Still, the name changes were necessary so that Aramark could reliably plan ahead for its takeover in March, Gediman said, and so that visitors would have advance warning about the moves.

If Delaware North had to purchase a previous concessionaire's assets in 1993, it's not clear how the names of the buildings became part of those assets in the first place, nor whether Delaware North's claim to the trademarks is even valid, but it seems the NPS wants a "stable" name in place for the time being. What a waste of everyone's time. Seems like Delaware North is suffering from a case of sour grapes...

Curry Village, a collection of cabins near the center of the park that has carried the same name since the 1800s, will become Half Dome Village...

Also affected will be:

Yosemite Lodge at the Falls, becoming Yosemite Valley Lodge.

Wawona Hotel, becoming Big Trees Lodge.

Badger Pass Ski Area, becoming Yosemite Ski & Snowboard Area.

Hopefully these will be temporary changes and will later be restored, kind of like the years when Camp 4 was known as "Sunnyside." But just as Camp 4 was never actually called "Sunnyside" by climbers, I would guess most or all of these park locations will continue to be known by their original names regardless of what they're being called in the future.

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

http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-m ... story.html

[-Q-]

From what I have read, it does seem that the concessionaire was mistaken in what they had rights to. They seem to be holding the old traditional names hostage. They even thought they had exclusive rights to the name " Yosemite national park". Sour grapes indeed.

[BigBear]

The selfishness of greed never ceases to amaze me. Perhaps the ghost of John Muir can rise and haunt this corporate [can't think of a tasteful word at this time] and "correct" his/her position (e.g. reset their moral compass) on the matter. If not, a good swift hiking boot planted squarely on the butt cheeks could work, if not, just repeat the process until it does.

Hmmm, I feel better know.