A CLOTHING firm has been threatened with legal action unless it stops selling a jacket named after Scotland’s most famous Glen.
Hilltrek Outdoor Clothing claims that for 30 years it has been successfully selling a waterproof called “Glencoe”, named after the pass in the Lochaber region which is steeped in the country’s dark history.
On Friday, however, the firm received a stark notice from the lawyers of the National Trust for Scotland, warning that it was infringing a copyright on the name owned by the Trust.
At the weekend, Hilltrek, which is based in Aboyne, Aberdeenshire, published the letter on its Facebook page and asked: “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 unisex jacket retails at £345 and is designed for colder weather. Hilltrek’s other products include “Cuillin” and “Lochnagar”.
Last night, owner Dave Shand, 64, 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 Friday, was sent by solicitors Shepherd and Wedderburn, based in Edinburgh.
It stated: “We act on behalf of the National Trust for Scotland. 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 that 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 in Glencoe.
“It has come to our client’s attention that you are selling a product called the Glencoe DV jacket through your website.
“NTS requires that you 1. Immediately stop selling any goods which include the name GLENCOE from your website and 2) refrain from using GLENCOE on any future products and/or packaging.”
It added: “You will understand that NTS takes its statutory role extremely seriously and as you will be aware NTS will have to consider taking action against you if the above requirements are not complied with by 11 August 2017.’ The glen with its towering mountain scenery attracts walkers and climbers from around the world. It was the setting for the Massacre of Glencoe, one of the most notorious incidents in Scottish history when the Campbells murdered the MacDonalds in their beds.
The NTS, which owns most of the glen, opened a £3 million visitor centre in 2002. Its bid to trademark the name Glencoe began in late 2015 with an application to the Intellectual Property Office.
It was published in the Trade Mark Journal, to the fury of several local businesses worried it would threaten their livelihood.
An NTS spokesman said: “In retrospect, although the letter sent to Hilltrek was a standard one, it may have been, in the circumstances of this particular company, too harsh in tone.”
“Many people have been surprised that it is both possible and necessary to trademark a place name like Glencoe.
“Our only desire is to protect the properties in our care and stop them being exploited in ways which do not accord with our charitable purposes.
“Our letter to Hilltrek was intended to open up negotiation to establish if the company had legal prior trading rights and clearly the wording and tone did not convey this.”
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