Company seeks exclusive right to names at Grand Canyon

FILE - This Oct. 22, 2012 file photo shows a view from the South Rim of the Grand Canyon National Park in Arizona. For those who know and love the Grand Canyon, the names of its historic lodges are synonymous with the national park itself. But the right to use those names is ripe for debate after a longtime Grand Canyon concessionaire applied to trademark them. (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer, file) FILE - This Oct. 22, 2012 file photo shows a view from the South Rim of the Grand Canyon National Park in Arizona. For those who know and love the Grand Canyon, the names of its historic lodges are synonymous with the national park itself. But the right to use those names is ripe for debate after a longtime Grand Canyon concessionaire applied to trademark them. (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer, file)

By Associated Press January 24, 2015 5 min read

FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. (AP) – To those who know and love the Grand Canyon, the names of its historic lodges are synonymous with the national park itself.

Phantom Ranch, Bright Angel Lodge, El Tovar – all bring to mind a place coveted worldwide for its sweeping views, river rapids and history told though layers of geology.

But the fate of those names is up for debate after a longtime Grand Canyon concessionaire applied to trademark them.

Approval of its bid would mean Xanterra Parks & Resorts could charge future concessionaires to use roughly 20 names of the park’s most popular properties. It also could walk away with those names, leaving the iconic lodges and other facilities to adopt a new identity.

The National Park Service is weighing how to respond with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office to what a spokesman described as relatively uncharted territory.