Remember the Alamo ™

Trademark this.

An attorney working for Gov. Rick Perry’s office filed a “notice of opposition” [last week] with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office stating that Texas — not the Daughters of the Republic of Texas, which operates the historic site — should control the trademark.

The two have been at odds since April, when state officials said they discovered the DRT had applied for the trademark, but they are still discussing settlement options.

“We had hoped to reach an agreement by now. But we anticipate we will be able to reach one,” said Jim Ewbank, general counsel for the DRT.

The trademark would allow the DRT to generate money for upkeep of the monument by selling official Alamo-brand merchandise.

In the opposition notice, Houston-based attorney Paul Van Slyke noted that the Alamo has belonged to Texas since 1883. The Legislature gave the DRT “care and custody” of the shrine in 1905, but the state has retained ownership and should get the trademark, he wrote.

“The names THE ALAMO and ALAMO have come to mean more than the name of a historic shrine,” he wrote. “Through a long period of exclusive and continuous use … these names have acquired a commercial distinctiveness.”

Put me on the side of the state in this one. I agree that it makes sense to seek out merchandising revenue to help with upkeep of the place, but the state should own the trademark and should be responsible for appropriating the revenues. That will eliminate a major headache if some day for some reason the DRT is no longer responsible for care and custody.

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