Emily Hargraves last year was certain she was going to close Backcountry Babes, her 22-year-old business. Backcountry.com was suing her in federal court because she had secured a trademark for her company, which offers tours, clinics and avalanche training for women. When news broke last November that the e-commerce giant had for several years been […]
U.S. Patent and Trademark Office
Posted inBusiness, Coloradans, Environment, News, Outdoors
Stung by boycott movement, Backcountry.com CEO forging deals with businesses targeted in trademark debacle
It’s been two weeks since Backcountry.com CEO Jonathan Nielsen apologized for his company’s aggressive trademark actions and promised to make amends to the long list of business owners targeted by his now-fired trademark attorneys. And one by one, Nielsen is meeting with entrepreneurs and making things right, reaching deals that partner the e-tailing giant with […]
Posted inBusiness, Crime and Courts, News, Outdoors, Technology
Backcountry.com faces boycotts, social media backlash over trademark lawsuits. But the company remains mum.
Outdoor enthusiasts aren’t letting go of their backcountry without a fight. As news spreads about Backcountry.com’s recent slew of legal actions against small business owners using the word “backcountry” in their names, so is public outrage. LATEST COVERAGE Nov. 6 — Backcountry.com breaks its silence amid trademark lawsuit controversy to apologize and say “we made […]
Posted inBusiness, News, Politics and Government, Technology
Why the head of the U.S. Patent Office is interested in artificial intelligence, false trademarks and the Western Slope
In the last five years, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office has hired more lawyers in the Front Range region than ever before. The Colorado hiring frenzy, of course, had everything to do with the agency opening a satellite office in Denver in 2014 as part of a move to expand outside of Washington, D.C. […]
Posted inBusiness, Coloradans, Crime and Courts, Politics and Government
Unemployment claims by federal employees up in Colorado as government shutdown drags on
George Lewis, a Denver patent attorney, thought the current federal shutdown would quickly pass. His thinking was that these usually lasted a few hours or days — the longest, two decades ago, stretched 21 days. And the federal agency he works with the most, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, collects fees on patent applications […]