Way2Broke
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- Feb 24, 2005
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This was on the front page of the Washington Post's business section. Looks like the gloves are off in Cape Cod! :laugh: I'm guessing that instead of raises this year, more lawyers wil be hired.
The 'Nantucket Shuttle' Scuffle
As vacationers flock to Cape Cod this summer for ocean breezes and sun, they might hop on one of three airlines that specialize in flights from big cities to the cape or to nearby islands such as Nantucket.Passengers probably won't know that there has been an ongoing dogfight between two of the airlines over the name Nantucket Shuttle, which has set in motion a regulatory minuet in Washington to sort out who gets to use the moniker -- after regulators gave both airlines the rights to it at one point.
The Department of Transportation , which normally leaves it to the airlines to sort out their trademark issues, got into the name game because it thought having two airlines registered under the same name on the same routes with the same equipment just might confuse consumers. It also was concerned how the Federal Aviation Administration would keep two airlines with the same name straight.
In a June 28 notice, the DOT said, "Considering all these factors, we find that if both air carriers operate under the same name, it is likely there will be significant public confusion."
Part of the confusion arose because the DOT approved use of the name -- first for new entrant Horizon Air Charter Inc. and then for the established carrier, Cape Air/Nantucket Airlines . Both make the 12-minute jump over Nantucket Sound from Hyannis to Nantucket.
In the regulatory division of labor, the DOT decides whether a commuter or commercial carrier is economically fit to fly. The FAA handles safety certification.
In this case, the DOT registered the name for Cape Air/Nantucket Airlines after it checked its database and found that no one else had claimed it.
"Despite checking it, we got a negative response. I don't know why," said Dayton Lehman , DOT deputy assistant counsel for aviation enforcement and proceedings.
Lehman stressed that the DOT's decision had no bearing on legal rights to the name. "We are trying not to be in the business of deciding who has the right to a name," he said.
But in this case, the agency decided to revoke Cape Air/Nantucket Airlines' registration of the name.
Cape Air/Nantucket Airlines does not splash the name on its planes or use Nantucket Shuttle as its formal business name. But it said it is known as the Nantucket Shuttle because of its longevity, frequency of flights, and widespread use of the name in its advertisements and on its Web site.
"It's a name we have been using for years," said Daniel Wolf , the airline's chief executive. "We have it in taglines all over the place. There is a certain amount of intellectual capital built up in it."
But then Horizon Air decided to call its service Nantucket Shuttle, saying it was unaware anyone else had claim to the name.
"I fell in love with the name. I jumped all over it," said Mark Conway , president of Horizon Air Charter, now known as Nantucket Shuttle.
When Cape Air/Nantucket Airlines got wind of Horizon's intentions, it told Conway that his company could not use the name because it had registered "Nantucket Shuttle" as a trademark with the state of Massachusetts.
Conway checked with the statehouse and found that Cape Air/Nantucket Airlines had registered the name as a service mark but that it had let the rights lapse by about 11 months -- enough time for the new airline to land on the name.
Trying another avenue, Cape Air/Nantucket Airlines tried to register the name for its Nantucket service with the DOT. It looked as if the established carrier had won that round until the FAA caught the mistake and reminded the DOT that Horizon had already nabbed the name.
Having little choice but to get involved, the DOT proposed to revoke Cape Air/Nantucket Airlines' registration of the name.
Wolf said Cape Air/Nantucket Airlines will be forced to gradually stop using the shuttle name because, in effect, it would be advertising for a competitor. As of now, Cape Air/Nantucket still offers the "Nantucket Shuttle" on its Web site. Wolf said he didn't expect his more established carrier to lose business, though Conway's airline has offered some price competition. Michelle Haynes , another executive at Cape Air/Nantucket, put it this way: "We are so well known. Would people stop buying Coke if they lost use of the 'Classic' part?"
About 300,000 people -- mostly workers -- make the plane trip each year. A third airline, Island Airlines , also serves the route.
"It's over. It's my name," said Conway. "It's going on the airplanes."
But it might not be clear skies ahead.
Cape Air/Nantucket filed a trademark application with the Patent and Trademark Office on Feb. 3 to lay claim to the name Nantucket Shuttle.
Sharon Marsh , deputy commissioner of the Patent and Trademark Office, said the process allows parties to oppose the application.
Marsh said a significant factor in name cases is first use of a name, not its registration. The proceeding at the Patent Office could take years if objections are raised.
Adding to the confusion is the Shuttle, a bus service run by the Nantucket Regional Transit Authority . Or, want a private charter flight to Nantucket? For $460 each way, Tradewind Aviation operates a service. It's called Nantucket Shuttle. The DOT is doing some checking on that name, too.
The Regulators is going on summer hiatus and will return in a few weeks.
Link: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/07/17/AR2006071701378_2.html
The 'Nantucket Shuttle' Scuffle
As vacationers flock to Cape Cod this summer for ocean breezes and sun, they might hop on one of three airlines that specialize in flights from big cities to the cape or to nearby islands such as Nantucket.Passengers probably won't know that there has been an ongoing dogfight between two of the airlines over the name Nantucket Shuttle, which has set in motion a regulatory minuet in Washington to sort out who gets to use the moniker -- after regulators gave both airlines the rights to it at one point.
The Department of Transportation , which normally leaves it to the airlines to sort out their trademark issues, got into the name game because it thought having two airlines registered under the same name on the same routes with the same equipment just might confuse consumers. It also was concerned how the Federal Aviation Administration would keep two airlines with the same name straight.
In a June 28 notice, the DOT said, "Considering all these factors, we find that if both air carriers operate under the same name, it is likely there will be significant public confusion."
Part of the confusion arose because the DOT approved use of the name -- first for new entrant Horizon Air Charter Inc. and then for the established carrier, Cape Air/Nantucket Airlines . Both make the 12-minute jump over Nantucket Sound from Hyannis to Nantucket.
In the regulatory division of labor, the DOT decides whether a commuter or commercial carrier is economically fit to fly. The FAA handles safety certification.
In this case, the DOT registered the name for Cape Air/Nantucket Airlines after it checked its database and found that no one else had claimed it.
"Despite checking it, we got a negative response. I don't know why," said Dayton Lehman , DOT deputy assistant counsel for aviation enforcement and proceedings.
Lehman stressed that the DOT's decision had no bearing on legal rights to the name. "We are trying not to be in the business of deciding who has the right to a name," he said.
But in this case, the agency decided to revoke Cape Air/Nantucket Airlines' registration of the name.
Cape Air/Nantucket Airlines does not splash the name on its planes or use Nantucket Shuttle as its formal business name. But it said it is known as the Nantucket Shuttle because of its longevity, frequency of flights, and widespread use of the name in its advertisements and on its Web site.
"It's a name we have been using for years," said Daniel Wolf , the airline's chief executive. "We have it in taglines all over the place. There is a certain amount of intellectual capital built up in it."
But then Horizon Air decided to call its service Nantucket Shuttle, saying it was unaware anyone else had claim to the name.
"I fell in love with the name. I jumped all over it," said Mark Conway , president of Horizon Air Charter, now known as Nantucket Shuttle.
When Cape Air/Nantucket Airlines got wind of Horizon's intentions, it told Conway that his company could not use the name because it had registered "Nantucket Shuttle" as a trademark with the state of Massachusetts.
Conway checked with the statehouse and found that Cape Air/Nantucket Airlines had registered the name as a service mark but that it had let the rights lapse by about 11 months -- enough time for the new airline to land on the name.
Trying another avenue, Cape Air/Nantucket Airlines tried to register the name for its Nantucket service with the DOT. It looked as if the established carrier had won that round until the FAA caught the mistake and reminded the DOT that Horizon had already nabbed the name.
Having little choice but to get involved, the DOT proposed to revoke Cape Air/Nantucket Airlines' registration of the name.
Wolf said Cape Air/Nantucket Airlines will be forced to gradually stop using the shuttle name because, in effect, it would be advertising for a competitor. As of now, Cape Air/Nantucket still offers the "Nantucket Shuttle" on its Web site. Wolf said he didn't expect his more established carrier to lose business, though Conway's airline has offered some price competition. Michelle Haynes , another executive at Cape Air/Nantucket, put it this way: "We are so well known. Would people stop buying Coke if they lost use of the 'Classic' part?"
About 300,000 people -- mostly workers -- make the plane trip each year. A third airline, Island Airlines , also serves the route.
"It's over. It's my name," said Conway. "It's going on the airplanes."
But it might not be clear skies ahead.
Cape Air/Nantucket filed a trademark application with the Patent and Trademark Office on Feb. 3 to lay claim to the name Nantucket Shuttle.
Sharon Marsh , deputy commissioner of the Patent and Trademark Office, said the process allows parties to oppose the application.
Marsh said a significant factor in name cases is first use of a name, not its registration. The proceeding at the Patent Office could take years if objections are raised.
Adding to the confusion is the Shuttle, a bus service run by the Nantucket Regional Transit Authority . Or, want a private charter flight to Nantucket? For $460 each way, Tradewind Aviation operates a service. It's called Nantucket Shuttle. The DOT is doing some checking on that name, too.
The Regulators is going on summer hiatus and will return in a few weeks.
Link: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/07/17/AR2006071701378_2.html
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