Range Riders Keep Arrowhead Logo After Trademark Dispute Comes to an End
The National Park Service had previously claimed the baseball team's logo was too similar to its own
By Mike Kordenbrock
The Department of Interior (DOI) in early April withdrew its opposition to the Glacier Range Riders’ arrowhead logo, drawing to a close a dispute between the Flathead Valley Pioneer League baseball team and the federal government that has played out over the last few years in legal filings with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office’s Trademark Trial and Appeal Board.
The DOI, representing the National Park Service, had previously argued that the arrowhead logo used by the Range Riders, referred to in documents by the name Ridge Run Intangibles LLC, was so similar to the arrowhead logo used by the NPS since at least 1952 that it could cause confusion and amounted to a false suggestion of a connection to the NPS.
In a May 13 press release from the Range Riders about the NPS withdrawal of its opposition, the baseball team says that it “has maintained that the arrowhead shape is a generic design used by numerous organizations and does not infringe on the NPS’s trademark.”
The Range Riders in the same press release referred to the withdrawal of opposition as “a favorable result,” and “a successful resolution” that came after “years of relentless pressure from the NPS to abandon the design.”
After the withdrawal, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office dismissed the opposition with prejudice. Documents say that the withdrawal of the opposition from the Department of the Interior was done “in accordance with the terms of the Parties’ settlement.”
Asked about the settlement, a Range Riders spokesperson shared the following statement: “The case was resolved with prejudice in our favor, meaning that our use of the arrowhead shape does not imply any affiliation with the National Park Service. Thanks to the unwavering support of our fans and community, we overcame a bureaucratic roadblock that many small businesses do not have the resources to navigate before proper resolve is reached. We’re thrilled to move forward and focus on the field for our Home Opener on May 20th.”
The National Park Service did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
A relative newcomer to the Pioneer League, the Range Riders played their first game in May of 2022. The Range Riders trace the start of the dispute to October 2022, and in the press release it references a dismissal by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office of an initial protest by the park service, which was followed by additional opposition from the NPS.
The Range Riders successfully filed trademark applications in 2022 for a number of other logos, including a cartoon bear with a brimmed hat on a bus, holding a baseball bat and two versions of a cartoon goat in a jacket and brimmed hat holding a baseball bat. In 2023 the team also filed for a trademark for a stylized illustration of the word “Glacier.”
The Beacon reported in 2022 that the sports marketing agency Brandiose, which helped develop the Glacier Range Riders brand, had characterized it as a brand that stood alone in adopting national parks as inspiration, and that its name was associated with the forest range riders, who were a precursor to park rangers. Jason Klein, a partner with Brandiose, told the Beacon that the team was also the first professional sports team to use the government-issued shade of green as its primary color, with red, black and sienna as secondary colors.
“The brand is really inspired by the founding of the National Park Service, the golden age when it was just getting started at the turn of the 20th century,” Klein told the Beacon in 2022. “The National Park Service today is very educational and scientific, which we love, but we were inspired by a much more rugged version of adventure that really goes back to the founding years.”
The DOI filed a notice of opposition in June of 2023 to the arrowhead logo, and legal representatives for the Range Riders responded later that summer with a filing in which they disputed the government’s claims, and argued that the two arrowheads were not similar, pointing to differences including the “RR” initials featured in the team’s arrowhead logo, as well its bold, three-dimensional features.
The Range Riders also thanked U.S. Rep. Ryan Zinke, R-Mont., in their press release about the trademark dispute ending. Zinke had been vocal about his disapproval of the legal conflict, going so far as to question then Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland about it during a House Appropriations, Interior, Environment and Related Agencies Subcommittee hearing in 2024, during which he called the government’s actions “frivolous and predatory.”
“This was an important fight, not only for securing our rights to the arrowhead logo, but also ensuring this universal symbol remains open for others to use,” Glacier Range Riders President Chris Kelly said in a statement. “With the withdrawal of the NPS claim, we’re free to focus on what matters most — bringing families together, creating lasting memories, and celebrating the region’s rich heritage through the game of baseball.”