This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2014, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
Visit Salt Lake said Friday it has agreed to drop the abbreviation USA from all of its promotional materials for the Cottonwood canyons' four ski resorts. In return, Steamboat Ski & Resort Corp. has dropped its federal lawsuit alleging a trademark violation of Steamboat's moniker, Ski Town U.S.A.
"Steamboat appreciates Visit Salt Lake's willingness to revise their campaign in order to address the concerns that resulted in the court filing," said Rob Perlman, the northwestern Colorado resort's senior vice president of sales and marketing.
Steamboat had filed its trademark-infringement lawsuit on Oct. 8 in U.S. District Court for Colorado, three weeks after Visit Salt Lake unveiled its campaign with the Ski City USA name.
A joint press release announcing the settlement said Visit Salt Lake was revising its campaign "in a manner that is acceptable to the parties." Details were not disclosed because of a confidentiality agreement.
A review of Visit Salt Lake's website showed that the campaign's logo has been altered, taking the boldly lettered USA line out of the middle. The campaign web address also has been changed, from http://www.SkiCityUSA.com to http://www.visitsaltlake.com/skicity.
If you look there, said Visit Salt Lake President and CEO Scott Beck, everything that Salt Lake's campaign hoped to emphasize is still intact.
Against a backdrop of fireworks bursting in front of the Wasatch Front, the home page pounds home the message that Salt Lake is the only Ski City with 1,700 restaurants, 120 hotels, 140 bars and four world class resorts.
"The Ski City campaign is unique and will continue to promote a distinct alternative experience — the benefits of an urban community teeming with restaurants, professional sports teams, cultural offerings and abundant hotel options within minutes of numerous world-class resorts and an international airport," Beck said.
"Getting that idea out is really the most important thing for us," he added, calling the decision to revise the name as "a long-term strategy to call ourself what we are and to market out snow in a unique way."
Steamboat spokeswoman Loryn Kasten said her resort was satisfied with the outcome, which "protects our intellectual property" and does so before Steamboat's scheduled Nov. 26 opener .
Twitter: @sltribmikeg