In January, news broke that the names of beloved Yosemite National Park attractions were slated to change because of a trademark dispute between the park and its long-serving concessions company. Members of the public have been left to wonder how such a ridiculous legal battle could have started in the first place. Surely the intellectual properties of the famous Ahwahnee Hotel, Wawona Hotel, Curry Village, and other sites—nestled within a valley that has been government-owned for over 125 years—should never have been up for grabs.

Unfortunately, trademark law doesn’t always follow such logic: The concession giant Delaware North Co. (DNC) was able to apply for and was granted rights to the names in question. A little digging into the basics of trademark registration reveals that obtaining the rights to a name or phrase not already registered can be quite easy. In addition, individuals or companies can transfer and/or purchase trademark rights from one another, as DNC claims to have done with some titles when it took over concessions (the food, beverage, and hospitality sectors of the park) from the previous company, MCA, in 1993.

There is such a thing as "common law rights," in which an entity can use names and logos in commerce without registering them, which may have been how the park’s attractions had been operating until the concessions companies got involved. After all, the Ahwahnee has operated under its name since it opened 90 years ago, and the construction of the luxury accommodations was the idea of Stephen Mather, the National Park Service director at the time. Whether the NPS never saw the necessity of registering Yosemite’s long-serving names, or believed the concessionaires’ use of the intellectual properties (while they were in charge of operations) was not an issue, is unclear.

What we do know is that DNC began quietly applying to register trademarks of park entities in 2002 and was granted ownership of over half a dozen of them in the following years. Park officials were not aware of this until 2014. 

In June 2015, the park declined to renew DNC’s contract, choosing to go with an Aramark subsidiary instead. Then, in September, DNC slapped the park with a lawsuit stipulating that the "intangible" properties the corporation had acquired could no longer be used, unless they are bought back for $51 million. Meanwhile, the park argues that the trademarks are only worth $1.63 million.

As a result of this ongoing legal battle, the park has decided to change the names of its historic landmarks beginning March 1. The Ahwahnee will become the Majestic Yosemite Hotel; Yosemite Lodge at the Falls will be called Yosemite Valley Lodge; Wawona Hotel will be the Big Trees Lodge; and Badger Pass Ski Area will become Yosemite Ski & Snowboard Area. Thankfully, John Muir’s former stomping grounds will still be "Yosemite National Park" for now, though DNC claims to have rights to that title as well.