It's officially a ski country battle now between Colorado's Steamboat Springs and Utah's Salt Lake City. A few weeks ago, Salt Lake City announced a new marketing campaign to reposition the state capital as Ski City USA. Now, Ski Town, U.S.A. (aka Steamboat), has filed a federal lawsuit saying that the SLC campaign violate's their intellectual property rights. When the story broke earlier this week, Visit Salt Lake didn't comment on the matter, but now they've released a statement and it looks like this high-country scuffle isn't going away any time soon.
In a statement released to Steamboat Today, Visit Salt Lake claims that the whole point of the Ski City U.S.A. campaign is to differentiate the state capital from other ski towns. The slogan still sounds pretty similar to us, but that's for the courts to decide. Here's the statement, below:
"Visit Salt Lake's Ski City USA campaign does not create confusion and does not trade on the goodwill of Steamboat Ski Resort or its "Ski Town U.S.A." trademark. To the contrary, the Ski City USA campaign seeks to differentiate the two experiences rather than capitalize on any existing brand. Ski City USA celebrates and promotes the fact that there is a distinct alternative to the "ski town" experience, one that will forever change ski-related travel for a large segment of winter enthusiasts.
Ski City USA recognizes that towns like Steamboat Springs and others are iconic in what they offer to winter enthusiasts. As host of the 2002 Winter Olympics, Ski City USA offers a very different experience than any of the wonderful ski towns throughout North America. Just as each ski town has its individual traits and attributes, Ski City USA is unique. Ski City USA provides a distinct alternative to the ski town experience — the benefits of a region teeming with restaurants, professional sports teams, cultural offerings, hotel options, etc., all within minutes of numerous world-class resorts and an international airport, make Ski City USA a completely different kind of destination than the traditional ski town."
Looks like this fight is headed to court, Curbediverse. And before anyone thinks that Steamboat won't take this thing all the way, remember that in the past, they sent Unofficial Networks a cease and desist order for using the term champagne powder.
· Visit Salt Lake releases statement in response to Ski City USA lawsuit [Steamboat Today]
· Ski Town U.S.A. Sues Ski City USA In Battle Over Name [Curbed Ski]
· Walt Disney's Granddaughter Buys Historic Ranch in Steamboat [Curbed Ski]
· The Ten Ski Towns You Absolutely Must Visit This Winter [Curbed Ski]
· From Telluride to Winter Park: Average Rent in 17 Ski Towns [Curbed Ski]
Loading comments...