The Winn Transportation website touts its “original” and “authentic” trolly service.
Running a trolley business is no joy ride.
The owner of five trolley cars has once again been pulled into a lawsuit, this time over the use of the name “Richmond Trolley.”
The upstart Richmond Trolley Group LLC was sued this month by longtime local transportation company Winn Bus Lines Inc., which is seeking to stop the LLC from using the moniker.
Winn has run its trolleys since 1987 and says in its suit that it has long used the “Richmond Trolley” service mark on some of its vehicles and promotions and has claim to the name.
Richmond Trolley Group LLC was established by John Moulton, a Fredericksburg businessman who in 2011 launched Richmond Trolley Company to run tours across Richmond.
Winn claims in its suit that the LLC “has been violating and continues to violate” Winn’s common-law trademark on the service name Richmond Trolley. It also claims that using the name for a competing business “creates confusion among customers.” The three-page suit was filed April 17 in Richmond Circuit Court.
In December, shortly after Moulton’s company got up and running, Winn filed the name “Richmond Trolley” with the State Corporation Commission and registered the name for a trademark and service mark with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.
It is asking the court to issue an order preventing Richmond Trolley Group from using the name on any of its vehicles.
Moulton is also in a legal spat with his estranged business partner, Buck Ward. The two are fighting over who controls the Richmond Trolley Company.
Moulton is not named in the Winn case. Ward is not tied to Richmond Trolley Group LLC.
Winn’s website touts its “‘Original’ Richmond Trolley” service.
“These are the authentic and original Richmond Trolleys that were retired by the City of Richmond. Accept no substitute for the original Richmond Trolley,” it says on its site.
Mark Pounders, director of operations at Winn, declined to comment on the case at the advice of the company’s lawyers.
Winn is represented by S. Sadiq Gill and Brittany Berlauk, attorneys with the firm DurretteCrump.
Richmond Trolley Group owns five 16,000-pound trolleys purchased by Moulton in 2011. Their operation was hindered for part of the past year by the dispute between Ward and Moulton.
Moulton could not be reached for comment.
He was represented in his case against Ward by John McManus, an attorney with Hirschler Fleischer in Fredericksburg. McManus is listed as registered agent for Richmond Trolley Group in the Winn case. He did not return a call or email by press time.
Correction: A previous version of this this story stated that Winn Bus Lines has been in business since 1987. It began running its fleet of trolleys in 1987. The company has been in business as Winn since 1956.
The Winn Transportation website touts its “original” and “authentic” trolly service.
Running a trolley business is no joy ride.
The owner of five trolley cars has once again been pulled into a lawsuit, this time over the use of the name “Richmond Trolley.”
The upstart Richmond Trolley Group LLC was sued this month by longtime local transportation company Winn Bus Lines Inc., which is seeking to stop the LLC from using the moniker.
Winn has run its trolleys since 1987 and says in its suit that it has long used the “Richmond Trolley” service mark on some of its vehicles and promotions and has claim to the name.
Richmond Trolley Group LLC was established by John Moulton, a Fredericksburg businessman who in 2011 launched Richmond Trolley Company to run tours across Richmond.
Winn claims in its suit that the LLC “has been violating and continues to violate” Winn’s common-law trademark on the service name Richmond Trolley. It also claims that using the name for a competing business “creates confusion among customers.” The three-page suit was filed April 17 in Richmond Circuit Court.
In December, shortly after Moulton’s company got up and running, Winn filed the name “Richmond Trolley” with the State Corporation Commission and registered the name for a trademark and service mark with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.
It is asking the court to issue an order preventing Richmond Trolley Group from using the name on any of its vehicles.
Moulton is also in a legal spat with his estranged business partner, Buck Ward. The two are fighting over who controls the Richmond Trolley Company.
Moulton is not named in the Winn case. Ward is not tied to Richmond Trolley Group LLC.
Winn’s website touts its “‘Original’ Richmond Trolley” service.
“These are the authentic and original Richmond Trolleys that were retired by the City of Richmond. Accept no substitute for the original Richmond Trolley,” it says on its site.
Mark Pounders, director of operations at Winn, declined to comment on the case at the advice of the company’s lawyers.
Winn is represented by S. Sadiq Gill and Brittany Berlauk, attorneys with the firm DurretteCrump.
Richmond Trolley Group owns five 16,000-pound trolleys purchased by Moulton in 2011. Their operation was hindered for part of the past year by the dispute between Ward and Moulton.
Moulton could not be reached for comment.
He was represented in his case against Ward by John McManus, an attorney with Hirschler Fleischer in Fredericksburg. McManus is listed as registered agent for Richmond Trolley Group in the Winn case. He did not return a call or email by press time.
Correction: A previous version of this this story stated that Winn Bus Lines has been in business since 1987. It began running its fleet of trolleys in 1987. The company has been in business as Winn since 1956.
“common-law trademark on the service name Richmond Trolley”
sounds like someone forgot to file their copyright and trademark paperwork and now theyre upset about it.
This is a silly case that Winn deserves to lose. They didn’t invent Richmond and they didn’t invent trolleys and they don’t have any exclusive right to the vehicles or their use. The fact that they tried to trademark Richmond Trolley AFTER Richmond Trolley Group LLC formed is disingenuous at best. Copyright lawyers will tell you that authorship is the original copyright, regardless of who registers it first. Winn doesn’t use Richmond Trolley as a name, (nor should they). And even if they did win, the best they could hope for would be to force RTG to change their name… Read more »
Heck, maybe GRTC should join the fight or send a “friend of the court’ brief. They had the first operation. The orignial trolley my rear, Winn’s were from the 1980s not the 1890s (that were burned).