HELENA, Mont. (AP) – A Montana minor league baseball team is accusing the U.S. Department of the Interior of making “unreasonable and persistent” trademark claims in a dispute over the use of its arrowhead logo.
The Glacier Range Riders of Kalispell, Montana, a member of the Major League Baseball Partner League, have applied for several trademarks and logos for the team, which begins play in 2022. The logo includes a mountain goat wearing a park ranger’s hat and a bear riding a horse-drawn carriage. A red bus that looks like a Glacier National Park tour bus and an arrowhead with the letters “RR” on it.
The Home Office opposes the use of the arrowhead logo. The agency filed an objection with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, which rejected the argument that the baseball team’s arrowhead logo could be confused with the Park Service logo, creating a false association between the two.
The federal agency then filed a challenge last June, and the team owners filed a lawsuit that they claim will cost them legal fees. A final hearing is tentatively scheduled for next year, team spokeswoman Alexa Belcastro said.
The park service’s complaint states that when the team released the logo, they acknowledged Glacier National Park as its inspiration.
Before Glacier National Park was established, range riders protected the Flathead National Forest from poachers, wildfires, and timber thieves.
“This brand is inspired by the founding of the National Park Service, the Golden Age of the early 20th century,” Jason Klein, a partner at sports marketing firm Brandiose, said when the logo was unveiled. . “What I love about this is that brands in every sport aren’t taking national parks as their inspiration.”
The Park Service logo is an arrowhead surrounding a sequoia tree, a landscape of snow-capped mountains, bison, and the phrase “National Park Service.”
“The only commonality between the Glacier Range Riders and NPS logos is the common arrowhead shape,” the team said in a statement last week. “NPS has no exclusive legal rights to this shape and it is used by countless other organizations across the country.”
Rep. Ryan Zinke, a Republican from western Montana, last week questioned Interior Secretary Deb Haaland about the department’s legal action against the Range Riders, asking other agencies, tribes and teams, including two-time Super Bowl champion Kansas City・Including the Chiefs) pointed out that they are using legal means. Arrowheads are included in logos, patches, and flags.
Haaland said she was not aware of any lawsuits against Range Riders and could not comment on ongoing litigation.
Zinke served as Interior Secretary under former President Donald Trump until he resigned at the end of 2018 following an ethics investigation.
“It’s unfortunate that someone in the federal government is using its power and resources to pursue this action that is not for the good or the will of the people,” said Chris Kelly, chairman of the Glacier Range Riders. “, he said in a statement. . “The arrowhead represents the strength and resilience of this land. We will fight for the ability to use it in our branding to unite our community and the ability for other organizations to freely access it. Masu.”
The Glacier Range Riders will begin the 2024 season with a May 21 home game against the Oakland Bs, who also play in the Pioneer League.
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