Yosemite's Ahwahenee Hotel gets its name back as well as other historic sites after $12M settlement

Yosemite National Park has been able to restore the historic names of some of its famous sights, including the iconic Ahwahnee Hotel and Curry Village, following the conclusion of a long-running trademark legal dispute.

On Monday, The National Park Service announced a $12 million settlement with Yosemite’s ex-concessionaire, Delaware North, who filed a lawsuit against the park in 2015, claiming ownership of the its trade names and trademarks.

Though the park never agreed with Delaware’s claims, they were still forced to rename many of its landmarks, with the Ahwahnee Hotel becoming known as The Majestic Yosemite Hotel; the Wawona Hotel changed its name to Big Trees Lodge; Curry Village was re-branded Half Dome Village; and Badger Pass Ski Area was renamed Yosemite Ski & Snowboard Area.

The park were also forced to alter slogans on T-shirts, baseball caps and other souvenirs, as the name ‘Yosemite National Park’ was also slated to be owned by Delaware.

It was a lawsuit that outraged park-goers and park workers alike, with many shocked to see a private company claiming ownership of beloved public property.

But now, after a four-year battle, officials from the National Park Service have expressed their overwhelming relief at being able to restore the original names of some of their most historic attractions.

‘We felt from the beginning that these place names belong to the sites and ultimately the American people,’ Yosemite spokesman Scott Gediman said in a statement.

‘The settlement is a positive way forward, not only to return the names but to end the [dispute] and prevent anything like this from happening in the future.’

To end the feud, the US Government agreed to pay $3.84 million of the settlement, with the remaining $8.16 million being paid by Yosemite’s current concessions operator, Aramak.

The dispute was originally prompted when, after nearly 25 years of running the park’s restaurants, hotels and outdoor activities, Delaware lost a $2 billion contract renewal to Yosemite Hospitality LLC, an Aramark subsidiary, in March 2016.

Delaware said when they took over the operation in 1993, they were forced to purchase the previous concessionaire’s intellectual property, which included the attraction’s names.

As a result, they requested the park pay them $50 million in compensation to allow Aramark to continue using the contested names.

Under the terms of Monday’s less costly settlement, the fee incurred by Aramark to pay to Delaware will allow them to keep using the original attraction names through the end of its contract with the park in 2031.

After that time, ownership of the names will them be handed over to the federal government to avoid any similar disputes arising in the future.

Furthermore, the litigation has also set a vital president for the National Park Service. Moving forward, new deals involving national park concessions will specify that private companies can’t independently claim ownership of names and trademarks in relation to park attractions.

‘It’s set a president for over 400 national park units across the country, which is extremely significant,’ Gediman told the LA Times.

The park wasted little time on Monday after the suit’s resolution was announced, with officials removing a white tarp that had covered the original name of Curry Village - a camp site in Yosemite Valley named after its founders more than a century ago – since the suit arose.

Gedimen said people were moved to tears as they watched the tarp fall. Visitors also gathered at the historic site, which has seen hundreds of engagements, marriages and christenings over the last 100 years.

Officials say they will be moving as quickly as possible to restore the other original names of its attractions, but admitted the process could take weeks or even months in some cases.

‘There are website and menus and in-room directories and things like that [to address],’ Gediman told the San Francisco Chronicle.

The legendary Ahwahnee Hotel, first opened in the 1920s, has played host to the likes of Queen Elizabeth II, Charlie Chaplin and John F. Kennedy.

It was the highest profile properties to be temporarily renamed as a result of the suit. Only Yosemite Lodge at the Falls, which was renamed Yosemite Valley Lodge, will keep its new name.

Yosemite will now also resume using hundreds of its logos and famous t-shirt slogans, such as ‘Go climb a rock’, which appears on merchandising promoting the park’s mountaineering school.

‘The most important thing to focus on is the fact that it’s done — the settlement was literally signed this morning and we’re done,’ Gedimen said to the LA Times on Monday.

‘These original place names have returned, and we are ecstatic.'

Source: Daily Mail

Powered by NewsAPI.org

Keywords:

Yosemite National Park • Yosemite National Park • Ahwahnee Hotel • Curry Village, California • Trademark • National Park Service • Concession (contract) • Delaware North • Lawsuit • Trademark • Ahwahnee Hotel • Yosemite National Park • Wawona Hotel • Curry Village, California • Half Dome • Dome Village • Badger Pass Ski Area • Yosemite National Park • Snowboarding • T-shirt • Baseball cap • Yosemite National Park • Delaware • Lawsuit • Ownership • Public property • National Park Service • Restaurant • Hotel • Delaware • Contract • Yosemite National Park • Hospitality industry • Limited liability company • Aramark • Subsidiary • Delaware • Concession (contract) • Intellectual property • Aramark • Settlement (litigation) • Aramark • Delaware • Ownership • Federal government of the United States • National Park Service • Name • Los Angeles Times • Curry Village, California • Campsite • Yosemite Valley • San Francisco Chronicle • Ahwahnee Hotel • Elizabeth II • Charlie Chaplin • John F. Kennedy • Yosemite Valley Lodge • Yosemite Valley Lodge • Logo • T-shirt • Rock (geology) • Mountaineering • This Morning (TV programme) • Los Angeles Times •