A multi-million dollar trademark dispute has caused the National Park Service to change the names historic landmarks and hotels in Yosemite National Park. Curry Village, a family-oriented lodging complex, will be called Half Dome Village. The Ahwahnee, a stone and timber hotel where interior scenes of Stanley Kubrick's The Shining were filmed, will become the Majestic Yosemite Hotel.
The name changes resulted from the ongoing dispute between Delaware North - a tourist management company - and the National Park Services. The management company recently lost their $2 billion contract with Park Services. It is the biggest contract the federal organization offers.
In an effort to stem their loss, the company is asking $50 million for the naming rights of the various establishments it managed. Delaware North claims it was forced to buy the intellectual property of the properties in 1993.
"The National Park Service required us to purchase all assets and assume all liabilities frm the previous concessioner," reads a statement on Yosemite National Park's website, "Our contract with the NPS requires a successor to buy the trademarks and other intangible property, just as we bought this property from the company before us."
The park acknowledges that the change will be uncomfortable. "This is not something we did willingly," said park spokesman Scott Gediman, according to the LA Times. He says the government hopes to reclaim and restore the old names.
Even the name Yosemite National Park has been claimed by Delaware North, however, the name of the park will not change, according to Gediman.
John Roberts, a Justice Department attorney, wrote in court documents that Delaware North "wildly inflated" the value of the trademarks in asking for $51 million. The park service believes the intellectual property is worth only $3.5 million.
"[Delaware North] has breached its duty of good faith and fair dealing," said Robertson, according to ABC.
