Firm faces storm over Glencoe branding
WITH its bloody history and breathtaking scenery, it is set in one of Scotland’s best-known glens.
Yet Glencoe is now at the centre of a bitter row – over the trademarking of the name.
In a bizarre move, the National Trust for Scotland (NTS) has issued a stern legal threat to a small Scottish company demanding that it stop selling an outdoor jacket bearing the name of the village in Glen Coe.
Even though Hilltrek Outdoor Clothing claims it has been selling its Glencoe waterproof for 30 years, it has now received a lawyer’s letter saying it breaches a trademark owned by the NTS.
In 2015 the trust angered local businesses by applying to trademark the name Glencoe. Yesterday Hilltrek, based in Aboyne, Aberdeenshire, posted the letter on Facebook, 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? Will our Kintail shirt be next? Come on NTS, play fair.’
The £345 unisex garment is part of a Hilltrek range including ‘Cuillin’ and ‘Lochnagar’ jackets. Owner Dave Shand joked: ‘I think we might have to start naming them after English mountains if the National Trust is going to trademark everything.’
The letter, dated on Friday, was sent by Edinburgh solicitors Shepherd and Wedderburn. It stated: ‘NTS is the registered proprietor of the UK trade mark registration for GLENCOE (registration number 3103006) including for Class 25 for Clothing, Headgear and Footwear.
‘NTS seeks to ensure only goods and services of suppliers with geographical links to GLENCOE can bear the name GLENCOE and also to protect the local community and local trade... NTS requires that you 1. Stop immediately any selling of goods which include the name GLENCOE from your website and 2) refrain from using GLENCOE on any future products.’
An NTS spokesman said: ‘The National Trust for Scotland does hold the trademark for the name Glencoe and there are restrictions on how the name can be used by other parties.’
But Aberdeen lawyer Malcolm Combe said: ‘The trademark application was only filed in 2015, so activity that began before that and has continued is probably OK.’
l The National Trust in England made a dramatic U-turn last night after an outcry at its order to volunteers at Felbrigg Hall in Norfolk to wear gay rights badges. After dozens of unpaid staff quit, the trust said: ‘We are making it clear that wearing the badges is optional.’