Green is the Operative Word, Apparently

Tavern on the Green, the quintessential New York City landmark-cum-tourist trap, recently filed for bankruptcy protection.  Yesterday, the restaurant began to auction off its absurdities assets to the highest bidder.  Notably missing from the auction is the right to use of the trademark “Tavern on the Green.”  Analysts value the name at a staggering  $19 million. Current trademark holders the LeRoy family, along with the City of New York and the incoming tenant of the restaurant, are currently in bankruptcy court to determine who holds the rights to the name. The City claims that it is the rightful owner and that the LeRoy family, the now-bankrupt tenants who have held the rights to the name since 1978, obtained trademark registration through deception.   The opinions can be found at the US bankruptcy court’s website.  The case is captioned In re Tavern on the Green Limited Partnership, U.S. Bankruptcy Court, Southern District of New York, Nos. 09-1513 and 09-15450.

Meanwhile, the city was recently denied a backup trademark application for the name “Tavern in the Park.”  The USPTO denied the application on the basis that the name was merely descriptive of the venue — a tavern, in the park.  It should be noted that the the USPTO did not deny the term on the grounds that the original “Tavern on the Green” trademark bars the  registration of the name, only that the “Tavern in the Park” name is not unique enough to be eligible for protection.  This one’s far from over.