Logo dispute negotiated

April 4, 2006

JOEL DAVIDSON

Frontiersman reporter

MAT-SU - The state is waiting to hear back from a group of local farmers with the Mat-Su Chapter of the Alaska Farm Bureau regarding a proposal that officials from the state Division of Agriculture hope resolves a heated controversy over who owns the Alaska Grown logo.

Earlier this year, the Mat-Su farming community was divided when the state filed a lawsuit against the Mat-Su chapter, charging it with trying to illegally take control of the popular symbol.

Larry DeVilbiss, the state director of the Division of Agriculture, is also a local farmer and said earlier this year that the decision to sue the Mat-Su Chapter was difficult but necessary to determine the rightful owners of the logo.

Assistant Attorney General Steve Ross said Monday the state put the lawsuit on hold a few weeks ago, however, after receiving a call from the Mat-Su chapter's attorney, asking the state to come back to the negotiating table.

&#8220We are trying to settle the case,” Ross confirmed. &#8220We thought we should take another shot at this.”

The dispute centers on legal ownership of a logo, which the state developed in cooperation with Alaska farmers more than 20 years ago. The goal of the mark is to market and distinguish local agricultural products from out-of-state competitors.

In addition, for the past 20 years, the Alaska Farm Bureau's Mat-Su Chapter, along with several other agricultural nonprofits have sold T-shirts, ball caps, sweaters and other paraphernalia emblazoned with &#8220Alaska Grown.” The money they raise goes back to promoting local agricultural products.

In recent years, though, the Mat-Su Chapter has complained that the state failed to uphold its agreement to protect the use of the logo from non-agricultural entities such as T-shirt shops and gift stores who used bootlegged versions of the mark to turn a profit. The chapter claimed the state responded slowly in cracking down on bootleggers who siphoned off Alaska Grown clothing sales from rightful benefactors.

In Jan. 2005, amidst growing frustration, the Mat-Su Chapter finally filed for federal trademark ownership of the logo as it appears on clothing and apparel. Eight months later, they also applied for the federal rights to the logo as it appears on all agricultural products.

The state, however, claims rightful ownership of the logo, having registered it in 1986. After several negotiating sessions failed to resolve the issue, the state filed a lawsuit to settle the matter once and for all.

Now, with renewed negotiations, there is some hope on both sides that the parties will resolve their conflict out of court.

Ross would not elaborate on the specifics of the state's most recent proposal but did say the state's lawsuit is on hold for now.

&#8220I can't say what the ultimate resolution will be at this point,” he said. &#8220We've submitted a proposal and are waiting to hear back from them.”

The Mat-Su chapter met Thursday to review the state's proposal and formulate a counter offer, according to Wayne Brost, the chapter's co-director.

Brost said he hopes to bring both local Mat-Su chapter members together with state officials for the next meeting.

&#8220So far, we've been doing all the negotiating through the lawyers,” he said. &#8220Nothing is set yet, but I'm hoping to get two or three members together from each party.”

Contact Joel Davidson at

352-2266 or joel.davidson@

frontiersman.com.