Magazine files 1st lawsuit to shield 5280 trademark

Publication sends dozen 'stop' letters a year, lawyer says

James Paton, Rocky Mountain News

Published September 15, 2007 at midnight

Text size

More More Business

Scores of entrepreneurs, from the mechanics at 5280 Automotive to the creator of 5280 Salsa, have been inspired by Denver's mile-high elevation.

But 5280 the magazine has fired off letters to many of those companies in recent years insisting they stop using its trademarked "5280" label and for the first time has sued one of them.

The target of the lawsuit is a Front Range real estate brokerage known as The 5280 Team, according to documents filed in Denver District Court.

"The one thing I want to stress is that we're not trying to be jerks here," said Daniel Brogan, founder, editor and publisher of the monthly magazine focused on Denver and Colorado. "We have an obligation to defend the mark."

The two sides have reached a tentative agreement after settlement talks, he said.

The real estate group, part of Keller Williams, has not filed a response to the Aug. 22 lawsuit, and 5280 Team member Noreen Doyle declined to comment.

Of the 477 businesses in the Colorado secretary of state's database using 5280, many are not a concern, said the magazine's attorney, Christopher Beall.

5280 Elevator, a Denver maintenance company, doesn't need to hire a lawyer.

With plenty of other businesses, which could be confused with the magazine, it's a different story, Beall said.

"I can say that many entities have received letters on behalf of 5280 insisting they stop using the phrase," he said.

5280 typically contacts a dozen companies a year, he said.

The lawyer said businesses going by 5280 Media - there are at least a couple, according to state records - could easily be mixed up with the magazine.

A phone number for 5280 Salsa has been disconnected.

Others registered in Colorado include 5280 Passion Parties, 5280 Roadhouse Cycles & Scooters, 5280 Shirts and 5280 Wine and Spirits.

The lawsuit against the Denver real estate outfit is the first one filed over the 5280 trademark, Beall and Brogan said.

5280, which says it has 40,000 subscribers and a distribution of 80,000, has given the businesses time to change their names, and in some instances has paid them modest sums to help them transition, Brogan said.

"We've tried to be as flexible as we can," he said.

A number on the list are defunct, and in some cases, "you can infer they are no longer in business because they received a letter from 5280," Beall said.

The 5280 Team, run by Doyle, Nelson Howe and Lisa Santos, isn't in the same business, but the law "also protects a trademark owner from mistaken association by consumers," Beall said. "5280 is concerned about people looking at a For Sale sign The 5280 Team uses and thinking the brokerage is connected to the magazine."

5280 noted in its lawsuit it publishes real estate articles and advertisements among content related to entertainment, politics, dining, the arts and business.

The other concern: 5280 has sponsored a professional bicycle racing team under the name "Team 5280," the company said.

The magazine will target companies in the shopping, entertainment, restaurant or real estate sectors using the 5280 term "when it's likely someone might think we were involved in it," Brogan said. "From an editorial point of view, I don't want people thinking we're endorsing something when we're not."

In 1992, the year before its inaugural issue, the magazine became the first business to use the 5280 trademark, Beall said. 5280 also has licensed the mark to others, the documents show.

Many Colorado companies probably wonder how the magazine could claim a right to the mile-high measurement.

But "if the public has come to perceive 5280 as a reference to the Denver area - if anyone thinks 5280 is a geographic destination - it's because the magazine made it so," Beall said.

Brogan said that when the magazine launched, 5280 didn't mean much to people. Some thought it was a ZIP code, he said, while others thought it was a publication aimed at the 52- to 80-year-old demographic.

The publisher has resorted to legal action before but not over the 5280 term. 5280 once sued an entity trying to promote a "singles party" because it was hosting a similarly named function.

What 5280's trademark covers:

• Printed magazines featuring politics, entertainment, arts, cultural activities, dining and shopping local to Denver and Colorado.

• Online reviews of restaurants.

• Dissemination of advertisements for online communications and online marketplace.

• Financial sponsorship of cultural and sporting events and sports teams.

• Online journals or blogs featuring current news, social, cultural, political events, sporting events and popular culture and online publication of newsletters in the fields of restaurants and foods, current events and popular culture.

patonj@RockyMountainNews.com or 303-954-2544

Subscribe to the Rocky Mountain News