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The city has surrendered in a battle over who gets to use the iconic image of a leaping stag from the Portland Oregon sign and will not seek a trademark that would conflict with one already owned by a local brewery.
Old Town Brewing, which has owned a trademark for the leaping stag image since 2012, had blocked several of the city's attempts to trademark the entire sign, deer included.
WW first reported on the trademark battle in November.
Adam Milne, the brewery owner, and Mayor Ted Wheeler have now come to an agreement in the dispute over one of the most well-known images in Portland.
"This was a challenging process," Milne said in a joint statement put out by the city and Old Town Brewing. "Once the Mayor directly engaged on the issue, we felt an immediate difference in the tone and tenor of the negotiations."
The city will give up on obtaining a trademark that it could license to any beer or alcohol company to use on cans, bottles, glasses, packages or tap handles. In return, Old Town Brewing will allow Portland to grant alcohol companies the right to use the image of the famous sign on local advertising.
Before the negotiations, Milne had faced an uphill battle against the city to defend his trademark. He had advocated for more than a year that the city simply seek a trademark that did not infringe on beer, wine and alcohol. That's exactly what the city has agreed to do now.
"I am pleased that we have arrived at a mutually beneficial solution that ensures the City of Portland can effectively protect the Portland sign as a landmark, while also protecting the trademark rights of Old Town Brewing," Wheeler said in a statement.
Milne will file a letter with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office encouraging the agency to grant Portland's trademark application so long as it does not cross over into the category of beer, wine and alcohol. The agreement between Old Town Brewing and the city will last for five years, with the option to renew it for another five years.