According to the Pittsburgh City Paper, last year the Delta Foundation of Pittsburgh submitted two applications to the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office: one for “Pittsburgh Pride” and another for “Pittsburgh Pridefest.” What’s odd is that these applications were filed on Sept. 2, 2020, a week after The Delta Foundation announced it would dissolve in August 2020.
The applications went up for opposition on August 24, 2021. According to the patent office, anyone “who believes that it would be damaged by the registration of a mark” can oppose the trademarks. If the Delta Foundation were given these trademarks, the organizations that now run Pittsburgh Pride will face legal trouble when they market and advertise.
Yet these applications raise a number of questions. Is the Delta Foundation still operating? Who filed these applications and why? Who will defend them? Or will a judge strike down the last of this organization’s troubles? Who do they intend to sell or transfer the rights to? Representatives of the former Delta Foundation could not be reached for comment, according to the Pittsburgh City Paper.
View Delta’s U.S. Patent and Trademark application: Delta-USPTO-Pittsburgh-Pride-application
