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"Last Best Place" to stay where it belongs

It’s the Treasure State. It’s Big Sky Country. And it’s the Last Best Place.

Go ahead, say it: Last Best Place. No need to look over your shoulder; the trademark police won’t be coming for you.

Remember, in 2002 the owner of the swanky Paws Up Resort in the Blackfoot Valley started gunning to trademark the beloved Montana phrase that traces its origins back to the title of a 1988 anthology co-edited by William Kittredge and Annick Smith of Missoula.

It was always questionable whether Las Vegas businessman David Lipson could legally trademark what is essentially a commonly used description for an entire state. However, over a period of several years he did file several applications to reserve the phrase for his exclusive use, and he did get as far as trademarking the “Last Best Place Catalog” and the “last best place” phrase for bottled water.

Full Story: http://www.missoulian.com/articles/2009/05/08/opinion/opinion66.txt

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