Glencoe trademark warning ‘too harsh’

THE NATIONAL Trust for Scotland (NTS) has admitted it may have been ‘too harsh’ with an Aboyne-based outdoor clothing company after becoming embroiled in a row over the use of the name ‘Glencoe’.

Owners of Hilltrek Outdoor Clothing, who have been manufacturing and selling their ‘Glencoe’ jacket for almost 30 years, received a letter last week from the conservation organisation stating it was in breach of trademark.

The letter from NTS’s lawyers warned Hilltrek it should ‘immediately stop selling any goods which include the name Glencoe’ and must ‘refrain from using Glencoe in any future products or packaging’.

A picture of the letter was posted on Hilltrek’s Facebook page, with owner Dave Shand calling on NTS to ‘play fair’, saying: ‘Is this how small Scottish businesses should be treated? We have been making the Glencoe jacket for 30 years and how long has Glencoe existed without a trademark?’

NTS has since conceded the tone of the letter may have been misjudged. Mark Bishop, a director at NTS, said: ‘I have now spoken with Hilltrek. Although it was a standard legal document with standard wording, it was in the circumstances of this particular company too harsh in tone.’

NTS controversially applied to trademark ‘Glencoe’ in 2015, along with other famous place-names. Mr Bishop continued: ‘We have had to take defensive measures and begin registering trademarks for some of the properties we own.’