If you are not familiar with Pendleton, Oregon, you may have heard of it. Pendleton is home to an annual rodeo known as the Pendleton Round-Up, and Pendleton's most famous exports are probably the wool and clothing goods of Pendleton Woolen Mills. The two have grown up together for more than a hundred years, but last week they came to blows: Pendleton Woolen Mills sued the Round-Up Association over rights to the PENDLETON trademark for use in connection with fragrances. Portland Business Journal coverage is here and here (PDF of complaint here).
As probably every resident of Pendleton could attest, this is a sad turn of events for the city of 18,000 and two of its greatest corporate residents. The city's own website demonstrates that the Round-Up and the Woolen Mills are nearly synonymous with the town. It hits close to home for me, too, as I have the good fortune to be married to a Pendleton export (ok, more like a Pendleton expat).
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