By JIM AUSTIN
Cooperstown Crier
The board of trustees
has decided to move forward
with filing a trademark
for Doubleday Field
hoping that in the future it
may provide another new
revenue stream for the village.
The planning committee
has been discussing the
possibility of trademarking
some of the village’s iconic
images that may include
Doubleday Field, the Indian
Hunter and the Sandlot
Kid, according to Deputy
Mayor Jeff Katz.
According to Katz, local
attorney Charles Knull said
his firm has indicated it
will perform the legal work
for filing the applications
on a pro bono basis. The
only expense to the village
will be filing fees and incidental
costs. The motion
authorizing the filing adopted
last week by the
trustees caps the cost at
$1,000, Katz said.
In an email to Katz,
Knull explained there are
different classes of trademarks
depending on the
number of classes of good
and services to be covered.
The village will trademark
the name Doubleday Field
in the ``providing athletic
facilities’’ class, which is
the only one currently in
use by the village.
Knull advised the village
to start with that class because
it has been in use for
a long time. The village
could add additional classes
of goods and services as
they are put into use, such
as clothing and athletic
equipment.
Katz said the committee
talked about developing a
logo for the field which
could be trademarked, but
decided to take Knull’s advice
and start with a ``block
letter’’ trademark.
One concern among committee
members was the
potential impact for merchants
selling items with
the words ``Doubleday
Field’’ on them. But Katz
said they have been reassured
the trademark will
not affect them.
``That’s what we’ve been
told,’’ Katz said.
Once a trademark is
filed, use of the name Doubleday
Field may require
payment of a licensing fee.
Filing the trademark
has more to do with protecting
how it is used and less
about merchandising, Katz
said.
In other business last
Monday night, the board:
BULLET approved a
breakdown of how the village
intends to spend the
remaining $50,000 of bed
tax money promised by the
county board. Sidewalks
will receive $15,000; trolley
parking lot infrastructure,
$3,000; Main Street trolley
signs, $2,000; bike racks for
the Main Street area,
$1,000; Duratherm crosswalks
in the downtown
area, $5,000; improvements
to the Main Street entrance
to Doubleday Field, $5,000;
enhancements for village
signage, $14,000; and Lakefront
Park buffer boardwalk,
$5,000.
