Backcountry sues!

[jlwdm]

Originally Posted by andrew+

The founder-CEO of WeWork trademarked the word "We" and then sold it to his own company for $5.9 million dollars

That is a rounding error based on the amount of money he took the company for. He got paid a lot of money to leave.

Jeff

[Hellgate]

Originally Posted by 72gmc

this reeks of a private equity firm that has no concept of the ubiquity of the term, and no care for the community that their customers are a part of.



Now planning to return a recent purchase I made.

I think you nailed it. "Patent trolls." F'em.

[tele]

Pressure has some results: https://www.snewsnet.com/gear/backco...ademark-blowup

Maybe I should trademark Taco Tuesday

[echappist]

Originally Posted by tele

Pressure has some results: https://www.snewsnet.com/gear/backco...ademark-blowup

Maybe I should trademark Taco Tuesday

i know you probably posted that in jest, but LeBron apparently is one step ahead of you...

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/09/11/s...trademark.html

[tbike4]

I may have to send a "Dear John" letter to my personal gear head. BC was the only place to get the tires I like for cheap. S¢£t happens.

[Peter B]

And...Backcountry backtracks.

https://gearjunkie.com/backcountry-s...it-boycott-ceo

Backcountry Speaks Out: Letter From CEO

A Letter to Our Community

Dear Backcountry Community,

We have heard your feedback and concerns, and understand we fumbled in how we pursued trademark claims recently. We made a mistake.

In an attempt to protect the brand we have been building for nearly 25 years, we took certain actions that we now recognize were not consistent with our values, and we truly apologize.

It’s important to note that we tried to resolve these trademark situations amicably and respectfully, and we only took legal action as a last resort. That said, we know we mishandled this, and we are withdrawing the Marquette Backcountry action. We will also reexamine our broader approach to trademarks to ensure we are treating others in a way that is consistent with the culture and values envisioned by our founders and embraced by our community.

We only want what’s best for the whole community and we want every person and business in it to thrive. Backcountry has never been interested in owning the word “backcountry” or completely preventing anyone else from using it. But we clearly misjudged the impact of our actions.

We understand that this step we’ve taken may not be enough for some of you. The hope is that we can ultimately win back your trust, even if it takes time. We are grateful to be a part of your lives, providing you with great gear for your outdoor adventures, and all we want is to go back to doing what we do best. We intend to learn from this and become a better company.

Sincerely,

Jonathan Nielsen, CEO Backcountry

[tele]

Originally Posted by echappist

i know you probably posted that in jest, but LeBron apparently is one step ahead of you...

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/09/11/s...trademark.html

Yes, tongue in check...exactly why i think this is all so ridiculous.

Originally Posted by tbike4

I may have to send a "Dear John" letter to my personal gear head. BC was the only place to get the tires I like for cheap. S¢£t happens.

Everyone who has done that, including myself, has received a canned response. I made sure to include a note that I know that the average worker there has nothing to do with this and it sucks for them to have to be on the front lines for executive decisions.

[TiminVA]

Originally Posted by redir

I live in one of the towns where there huge shipping facility is which is actually kind of cool because if I order something then it's here the next day. But in this same town there is a little shop that has somehow survived the internet and has been around since the 1980's called Back Country Ski and Sport. IF I find out they got sued I will NEVER buy anything from Backcountry.com again.

I bought several things from Back Country Ski and Sports back in the 90s when I was in college up there.

[Veloo]

Glad you chimed in. Interesting insight.
Not quite sure what you mean by "PE influx" tho.

Originally Posted by polyhistoric

Trademark law is not about taking your words away - its about using a term for a business product or service in a novel way. Neither the trademark office or the law is at fault here. Prior to BACKCOUNTRY were there companies using that word "as their name" for catalog services for various outdoor sporting goods? You can still use the word "backcountry" to describe types of gear or locations. But for BACKCOUNTY the brand, they are not located in the "backcountry," their gods are not only for "backcountry" applications - the name evokes all the things you may associate with th word, but does not directly describe it. In trademark law we call this a suggestive mark.

Fair use is a completely unrelated concept - it is a defense to infringement. It is using another's intellectual property because there is no other reference point. The most famous example is when NEW KINDS ON THE BLOCK sued a newspaper for having a NEW KIDS ON THE BLOCK poll about the band. The Court said there was no infringement and the newspaper's use was fair use because they couldn't reference the band without using the name. The same is true for auto shops that want to advertise they work on Honda's - just don't use the trademark owner's name as your own business name.

[redir]

Originally Posted by TiminVA

I bought several things from Back Country Ski and Sports back in the 90s when I was in college up there.

It's still there today! My wife just bought a jacket there a month ago before we headed to Utah where interestingly there is the Backcountry headquarters. But they opened a huge warehouse in C-Burg a few years back.

[Peter B]

Originally Posted by Veloo

Glad you chimed in. Interesting insight.
Not quite sure what you mean by "PE influx" tho.

Private Equity.

[CDM]

Originally Posted by 72gmc

this reeks of a private equity firm that has no concept of the ubiquity of the term, and no care for the community that their customers are a part of.

Now planning to return a recent purchase I made.

Same here...they suck anyway...

[Red Tornado]

Originally Posted by 72gmc

this reeks of a private equity firm that has no concept of the ubiquity of the term, and no care for the community that their customers are a part of.

Now planning to return a recent purchase I made.

This is the kicker for me. There are, I'm sure, many names/terms/etc. where both trademarking & vigorously defending that TM make very good sense - to everyone.

Then there is the word in this thread, or ones like it. the Ohio State & Taco Tuesday are examples of trademarking requests that IMO (and apparently other's, too)have simply gone too far and kudos to the governing bodies for recognizing that. I kind of wonder if "Backcountry" doesn't fall into the latter category.

BTW, used to own a Campy Daytona group. Had it on a backup road bike - was very happy with it. Also the Ohio State thing made me want to puke. Talk about arrogance - IMHO.

[45K10]

I'm glad they checked themselves but I don't think I'll use them anymore. I'm sick of the whole private equity thing. I worked for a smaller business a few years back that was started out in a guys basement in Toronto about 25 years ago.. It was a pretty good company to work for despite the normal headaches associated with a small company.

About 8 years ago the company got bought by a private equity group. It went downhill fast.

[simonov]

Originally Posted by Red Tornado

This is the kicker for me. There are, I'm sure, many names/terms/etc. where both trademarking & vigorously defending that TM make very good sense - to everyone.

Then there is the word in this thread, or ones like it. the Ohio State & Taco Tuesday are examples of trademarking requests that IMO (and apparently other's, too)have simply gone too far and kudos to the governing bodies for recognizing that. I kind of wonder if "Backcountry" doesn't fall into the latter category.

BTW, used to own a Campy Daytona group. Had it on a backup road bike - was very happy with it. Also the Ohio State thing made me want to puke. Talk about arrogance - IMHO.

How would you feel about someone Trademarking a very commonly used cycling term like "paceline"?

http://tmsearch.uspto.gov/bin/showfi...810:1a3ijg.7.1

Don't hate the player, hate the game. Backcountry is a fine online retail outfit. There are some better and some worse, but they got a little too beat up over standard business practice.