Fight over Alaska Grown logo still alive and briefing

MAT-SU — It’s a case of too much information.

A large batch of e-mails turned over by the state in response to a discovery motion is prompting the Mat-Su Chapter of the Alaska Farm Bureau to ask for a delay in a decision on a summary judgment in the case.

At stake is the use of the Alaska Grown logo and profits earned through use of the logo. The Mat-Su Chapter of the Farm Borough has applied for a federal trademark on the logo. The state is suing for control of the logo.

Mat-Su Chapter Executive Director Karen Olsen said a hearing on her group’s response to the motion has been postponed.

Still on the agenda is an Oct. 29 hearing on whether the chapter fully responded with accounting information to a court order earlier this year that stripped the Mat-Su chapter of funds it usually uses to pay staff and give out charitable grants. Olsen said the chapter fully complied with the court.

A postponement was news to Assistant Attorney General Steve Ross of the Alaska Department of Law, who is in charge of the state’s case.

Ross said the case is still scheduled for court Dec. 17, if a judge does not rule on a motion for summary judgment before that date.

The state’s lawsuit argues the state of Alaska owns the logo, and the chapter will harm the state if it gains a copyright. All Mat-Su Farm Bureau proceeds from sales of T-shirts and other products bearing the logo were isolated by the court in an escrow account.

Local farmers say the state refused to protect the valuable logo, which was being pirated by some for-profit businesses and could have gone into public domain. Division of Agriculture officials have said they don’t want the Farm Bureau’s T-shirt profits and have unsuccessfully tried to settle the case.