Who can use the name "Tribune"?
Maybe the defunct Medford Mail Tribune does not have "dibs" on it.
A new newspaper wants to use the name Rogue Valley Tribune. I have heard that the owner of the now-gone Medford Mail Tribune said "no." The name "Tribune" still belongs to them, he said.
Maybe not.
For my entire lifetime the local paper has been called "The Trib" in casual speech. I suspect that using the name Tribune has some value to a new paper hoping to establish a readership and subscriber base.
I got this letter from a local attorney:
Nice post by Jack Mullen, sharing his memories about the old Mail Tribune, and his wish that the new Rogue Valley Tribune could use the name "Tribune."
I will observe that the new RVTribune could probably now use the name Mail Tribune, because the old Medford Mail Tribune has apparently abandoned use of that tradename by announcing that it has ceasing doing business in all forms (electronic and otherwise). I will also observe that I this morning checked the United States Patent & Trademark Office (USPTO) “TESS” database, and I found that there is no record of the name Mail Tribune or Medford Mail Tribune ever having been formally registered with the PTO. That means at most that only common law trademark rights are held by the former MMT, and as they appear to have abandoned use of the name Mail Tribune. The new RVTribune owners might check with their trademark counsel to obtain confirmation that the abandonment is complete and that therefore the RVT might can now use the old name if it chooses to do so.”
Conde Cox
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