The title "Surf City, USA" was the subject of a
trademark
A trademark (also written trade mark or trade-mark) is a type of intellectual property consisting of a recognizable sign, design, or expression that identifies products or services from a particular source and distinguishes them from othe ...
dispute between the
California
California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...
coastal cities of
Huntington Beach
Huntington Beach is a seaside city in Orange County, California, Orange County in Southern California, located southeast of Downtown Los Angeles. The city is named after American businessman Henry E. Huntington. The population was 198,711 duri ...
and
Santa Cruz. Both cities historically claimed the "Surf City" moniker, but the dispute intensified in 2004 after the Huntington Beach Conference and Visitors Bureau successfully filed the "Surf City USA" trademark with the
U.S. Patent and Trademark Office
The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) is an agency in the U.S. Department of Commerce that serves as the national patent office and trademark registration authority for the United States. The USPTO's headquarters are in Alexa ...
.
[{{cite news , author=Lisa Leff, url =https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/10/13/AR2006101300116.html , title = Surf City Rivalry Gets Gnarly , agency=]Associated Press
The Associated Press (AP) is an American non-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association. It produces news reports that are distributed to its members, U.S. ne ...
, work=Washington Post , access-date = July 6, 2014, date=October 13, 2006 A settlement was eventually reached in January 2008, which allows Huntington Beach to retain the trademark.
[{{cite news , url=http://www.ocregister.com/news/city-surf-bureau-1964274-beach-huntington , title=Huntington Beach settles Surf City USA lawsuit, date= January 22, 2008, access-date=July 6, 2014, work=Orange County Register , author=Cindy Carcamo]
Background
The cities of Huntington Beach and Santa Cruz both claim to be "Surf City", based on their respective surfing culture.
[ Santa Cruz was the site of first recorded surfing in California, by Hawaiians.][ It is also home to the Santa Cruz Surfing Museum, 11 world-class surf breaks such as ]Steamer Lane
Steamer Lane is a famous surfing location in Santa Cruz, California. It is just off a point on the side of cliffs in the West Cliff residential area near downtown Santa Cruz, providing easy access and a good vantage point for viewing. The Sant ...
which create some of the best surfing waves in the world,[{{cite news, first=Alia, last= Wilson, url=http://www.mercurynews.com/centralcoast/ci_12528421 , title=Surfer Magazine picks Santa Cruz as top spot to surf, date= June 5, 2009, newspaper=San Jose Mercury News, access-date=July 6, 2014] and the site of the O'Neill Cold Water Classic and other international surfing contests.[{{cite web , url = http://www.surfermag.com/features/onlineexclusives/srfcitystndup/ , publisher= Surfer, title = A Tale Of Two Surf Cities, access-date=July 6, 2014] Meanwhile, Huntington Beach is the home of the U.S. Open of Surfing and the International Surfing Museum.[ In addition, the rock and roll duo ]Jan and Dean
Jan and Dean was an American rock duo consisting of William Jan Berry (April 3, 1941 – March 26, 2004) and Dean Ormsby Torrence (born March 10, 1940). In the early 1960s, they were pioneers of the California Sound and vocal surf music style ...
had Huntington Beach, not Santa Cruz, in mind when they recorded their 1960s song " Surf City".[{{cite news , url=http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2005-02-10/news/0502100293_1_original-surf-city-surfers-huntington-beach , title=Turf battle heats up over Surf City name , first=Kimi , last=Yoshino , newspaper=Chicago Tribune , date=February 10, 2005 , access-date=July 6, 2014]
Santa Cruz began using the "Surf City" nickname in 1927 after a local newspaper coined the moniker.[ Huntington Beach officially adopted the "Surf City USA" nickname in 1991.][{{cite web , title=Huntington Beach, California , work=Surf City USA web site , publisher=Huntington Beach Conference and Visitors Bureau , url=http://www.surfcityusa.com/huntington-beach-vacation/history , access-date=July 6, 2014]
{{Gallery
, width=150 , height=150
, title = Scenes in Huntington Beach
, align = center
, File:LakeyFB.jpg, Professional surfer Lakey Peterson competing at the 2011 U.S. Open of Surfing
, File:Surf City U.S.A. Huntington Beach, CA. Sept 16, 2014 013.jpg, Surfers off of Huntington Beach
, File:Surfer memorial service 2.PNG, A surfer memorial service being held at the Huntington Beach Pier
The Huntington Beach Pier is a municipal pier located in Huntington Beach, California, at the west end of Main Street and west of Pacific Coast Highway. At in length, it is one of the longest public piers on the West Coast. (The longest is Ocea ...
, File:Surfingmuseum.jpg, International Surfing Museum
{{Gallery
, width=150 , height=150
, title = Scenes in Santa Cruz
, align = center
, File:Big wave breaking in Santa Cruz.jpg, A big wave breaking in Santa Cruz
, File:All levels of surfers (21422915640).jpg, Surfers off of Santa Cruz
, File:Steamer Lane 11-08-09.jpg, A crowd watches the waves at Steamer Lane
Steamer Lane is a famous surfing location in Santa Cruz, California. It is just off a point on the side of cliffs in the West Cliff residential area near downtown Santa Cruz, providing easy access and a good vantage point for viewing. The Sant ...
, File:Santa Cruz Lighthouse and Surfing Museum (8321929497).jpg, Santa Cruz Surfing Museum
Registration of the trademark
The Huntington Beach Conference and Visitors Bureau filed several applications to register the "Surf City USA" trademark in November 2004. The idea was to market the city[ by creating an authentic brand based on Southern California's beach culture and active outdoor lifestyle while at the same time creating a family of product licensees who operate like a franchise family producing a revenue stream that could also be dedicated to promoting the brand and city. A ruling by the ]U.S. Patent and Trademark Office
The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) is an agency in the U.S. Department of Commerce that serves as the national patent office and trademark registration authority for the United States. The USPTO's headquarters are in Alexa ...
, released on May 12, 2006, awarded the first three trademark registrations to the Bureau.[{{cite press release , url=http://www.primezone.com/newsroom/news.html?d=99014 , title=Huntington Beach Officially Registers Surf City USA Trademark , access-date=July 6, 2014 , date=May 12, 2006 , work=Huntington Beach Conference and Visitors Bureau press release , publisher=primezone.com , url-status=dead , archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140821195134/http://www.primezone.com/newsroom/news.html?d=99014 , archive-date=August 21, 2014 ][{{cite news , url=http://www.nbcnews.com/id/12780174/ns/us_news-life/t/huntington-beach-takes-name-surf-city-usa/#.U7ntwfldUfM , title=Huntington Beach takes name 'Surf City USA' , work=NBC News , agency=]Associated Press
The Associated Press (AP) is an American non-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association. It produces news reports that are distributed to its members, U.S. ne ...
, date=May 14, 2006 , access-date=July 6, 2014
One of the first products the Bureau developed to promote its brand was the Surf City USA Beach Cruiser by Felt Bicycles.[ The Bureau now has dozens of other licensed products on the market from Surf City USA soft drinks to clothing to glassware; and more than 20 licensing partners with over 50 different products.][{{cite news , first=Jennifer , last=Muir , title=Surf City musical wants to merge art and commerce , url=http://www.ocregister.com/ocregister/homepage/abox/article_1234091.php , work=Orange County Register , date=August 4, 2006 , access-date=July 6, 2014 ]
Response and settlement
After Huntington Beach trademarked the "Surf City USA" name, Santa Cruz politicians tried to prevent the trademark from being registered by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office because of the controversy over the "Surf City" nickname.[ Nevertheless, a law firm representing Huntington Beach sent cease-and-desist letters to Santa Cruz vendors to stop selling T-shirts emblazoned with "Surf City USA"."][
In response, two Santa Cruz surf shops, Shoreline Surf Shop and Noland's on the Wharf, sued Huntington Beach in order to protect the public use of the term "Surf City."][ The parties then reached a confidential settlement in January 2008, in which neither side admitted liability and all claims and counterclaims were dismissed. The Santa Cruz surf shops continue to print T-shirts, and the Visitor's Bureau retains the right to use the trademark.][
]
Aftermath
In 2009 Steve Marble, of ''Los Angeles Times
The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the U ...
''' "L.A. Now" news blog, wrote an article ''The real Surf City? It's Santa Cruz, says magazine'' saying: "But ''Surfer'' magazine proclaims Santa Cruz to be 'The Real Surf City, USA,' after it considered the surf, food and vibe of the nations' best known surf towns." Steve Marble quotes '' Surfer'': "Huntington Beach may have won the right to the name ‘Surf City, USA’ in the California courts, but any surfer who's ever paddled out at Steamer Lane knows the judge got it wrong.”[{{cite news , author=Steve Marble, url = http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/2009/06/the-real-surf-city-why-that-would-be-santa-cruz.html , title = The real Surf City? It's Santa Cruz, says magazine , work=L.A. Now, publisher=]Los Angeles Times
The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the U ...
, access-date = 2009-06-16 , date=2009-06-16
References
{{reflist
{{Huntington Beach, California
{{Santa Cruz, California
California culture
Huntington Beach, California
Santa Cruz, California