Minnesota tribe sues Radisson over casino TM
A Native American community is suing Radisson Hotels International and a Las Vegas casino for trademark infringement.
In a complaint filed last week, the Minnesota-based Prairie Island Indian Community (PIIC) said a Radisson resort in Las Vegas infringes the tribe’s federal ‘Treasure Island’ trademark.
The tribe operates Treasure Island Resort & Casino on its reservation, located in Red Wing, Minnesota, and says it owns exclusive rights to use the ‘Treasure Island’ name in relation to casinos.
PIIC registered a federal service mark for ‘Treasure Island Resort & Casino’ (number 3745627) at the US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) in 2010.
Service marks are a type of trademark that cover services only rather than physical goods.
The PIIC service mark registration followed more than a decade of litigation between PIIC and a Las Vegas hotel, also named Treasure Island (TI), over rights to use the name.
PIIC and TI reached a settlement in December 2008, which the tribe said has now been broken by a new deal involving TI and Radisson Hotels. The exact terms of the deal have not been made public, but PIIC says it does not allow TI to license any rights for the ‘Treasure Island’ name to third parties.
TI partnered with the international hotel group to become a Radisson brand last July.
“Shortly after this announcement, [PIIC] requested information from defendant TI regarding the newly-announced relationship with defendant Radisson, including, but not limited to, details regarding the proposed use of the Treasure Island mark,” the complaint said.
PIIC said it has not given any permission for Radisson or the Vegas hotel to use the mark or licensed its trademark rights.
The tribe also alleged that the Treasure Island hotel in Las Vegas has failed to provide it with any information regarding the “terms and conditions associated with the proposed use of the Treasure Island marks by defendant Radisson”.
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