At Howls From Other Hollywood, Ours Drops Its Claim on the Name

The battle over the right to market the word Hollywood appears to have ended.

Facing opposition from Hollywood, Fla., the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce has agreed to drop its bid with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office to get exclusive use of the name on T-shirts, coffee mugs and other commercial items.

As part of a settlement, Hollywood, Fla., officials, who have long opposed the California chamber’s application, have agreed not to oppose any future exclusivity the chamber may seek for the name, as long as it is specific to Hollywood, Calif., or Hollywood, the movie capital.

The compromise was announced last week by chamber officials here and city officials in Hollywood, Fla.

“We’re pleased, and I believe they are pleased, so I think you have to say it was a good negotiation,” said Larry Kaplan, the chamber’s executive director.

In a unanimous vote, the five-member City Commission in Hollywood, Fla., approved the settlement last Wednesday, said Irving Rosenbaum, the city manager there.

The chamber began trying to get trademark status for the name in 1986. Officials had hoped to use revenue from the sale of souvenirs to touch up some fading stars among the more than 1,800 in the Walk of Fame and to help finance other projects.

But the idea met with a storm of protest in Hollywood, Fla., a city of 125,000 halfway between Miami and Ft. Lauderdale. Hollywood bills itself as “Dream City Come True.”

City officials there filed notices of opposition with the trademark office, and the Florida city’s Chamber of Commerce launched a public relations campaign ridiculing what it described as an “arrogant attempt” by Californians to claim the Hollywood name.

A so-called “Hollywood Summit” organized by the Florida chamber attracted national attention last year. Representatives of 10 smaller Hollywoods from Maryland to New Mexico joined in, railing against “greedy Tinseltown” and the notion of the Hollywood, Calif., chamber wanting the Hollywood name all to itself.

Merchants in Hollywood, Fla., argued that if the application for exclusive use of the name were approved, it could severely restrict their ability to market anything with the Hollywood name on it.

Kaplan called the compromise fair, saying it offered something for both sides.

“It means that if we want to license a T-shirt with the word Hollywood over a movie camera, they aren’t going to interfere with us,” he said. “And if somebody there wants to sell a T-shirt with Hollywood over a coconut, we won’t complain.”