A Taxicab-High Straight
May 7, 2010
Why do I often hate this town and the people in it?
Let me count the ways.
1 … 2 … 3 … 4 … 15,189 ….
Las Vegas taxi company Ace Cab Inc. is suing the Regional Transportation Commission of Southern Nevada, charging the RTC is competing unfairly by using the Ace name for some of its bus lines.
In a lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court in Las Vegas on Wednesday, Ace Cab and its owner Frias Holding Co. say they’ve been using the Ace name since 1963 serving local and tourist taxi riders.
The lawsuit alleging trademark infringement says that on March 28, the RTC launched two bus lines under the ACE Gold Line and ACExpress brands and that another line is being developed called the ACE Green Line.
“By using ACE marks and/or marks confusingly similar to plaintiffs’ trademarks with the knowledge that plaintiffs own and have used, and continue to use, their trademark in Las Vegas, and beyond, defendant has intended to cause confusion, cause mistake or deceive consumers,” Ace Cab charges in its lawsuit.
Attorneys for the RTC have not yet responded to the allegations.
You know, it’s not very often that I am speechless, but this is one of those times.
Fine, much to the chagrin of every casino operator in this town, I’m never truly speechless, but this time I am pretty incredulous.
Sure that I missed something, upon reading the above news excerpt, I sat quietly for 5 minutes and tried to make sense of the cab company’s position. I’m a pretty fair guy, and I like to think that I am able to see all sides of a dispute. Even if I do not agree with someone, I bend over backward to understand their opinion, and I try to respect it.
This time, however, I’ve got nothing.
The Las Vegas ACE Bus
Look, I’m not the sharpest crayon in the box, but I’m pretty sure that even my stupid ass knows the difference between a 131-passenger bus and a goddamn TAXICAB. I can’t for the life of me figure out how anyone could think for a moment that the RTC is trying to deceive people by using the name “Ace”.
What is the transit authority going to do, hire bus drivers to hang out in crotch ports on The Strip and try to lure competition from cabbies?
“Pssssst, you! Yeah you. Don’t get in that Ace cab, I gotta Ace bus around the corner and it’ll only cost you three bucks a piece. Not only that, but I shower daily and you won’t have to listen to me yap on the phone in Farsi on the way there.”
Seriously, how exactly is this “deception” supposed to work?
Furthermore, how many tourists in this town know or care what the names of our cab companies are?
Unless you call a cab from off-strip, you really have no choice in what cab company you will get. You simply walk to the crotch port of your nearest casino, and the cab jockey sticks you in a random cab. Cab company monikers are irrelevant for a solid 99% of the people who visit the city.
Speaking of cab company names, what about all the others?
For those who are unaware, Frias is a cab semi-monopoly here in town, and they operate fleets under the following labels:
Airline Limousine Corporation
Las Vegas Limousines
Virgin Valley Cab
Vegas Western Cab
ANLV Cab
ACE Cab
Union Cab
Reading this list, it’s not hard to see how every business or entity in this town could be in big trouble.
For instance, Frias could conceivably sue the City of Las Vegas for adopting a similar name to their “Las Vegas Limousines” affiliate, thus intending to cause confusion, cause mistake, or deceive consumers.
How about the Culinary Workers Union? God only knows how many chef’s in this town ended up becoming taxi drivers because when they were told to “join the union” they went to the cab company.
What about Delta Airlines? They are a transit company, and if a person could mistake a bus for a cab, certainly they could mistake an airplane for a cab too.
What about casinos? The Ace is typically the highest ranking card in a deck, and because of this, it has a very strong and favorable gambling connotation. The gaming companies are clearly ripping off the cab company.
To say that I think that the owners of Frias have gone batshit would be an understatement. The entire thing wreaks of desperation, and it feels like Frias is trying to take out their self-inflicted hurt on anyone and everyone they can find.
I like the name of the ACE line. It’s the perfect compliment to the “Deuce” bus, and neither I nor anyone else will ever confuse it with a taxicab. I promise.
This might very well be the most ridiculous lawsuit I have ever heard of, and it is my sincere hope that the RTC prevails in this litigation.
Written by Disco Stu on May 7, 2010 at 3:06 am
You can get into a taxi directly under the porte cochere and they will take you pretty much anywhere. They will even drive you from MGM Grand to NYNY (it has been done, I hear). You have to walk to a bus stop and the bus only stops at designated stops.
Yeah, they’re interchangeable.
Written by tully on May 7, 2010 at 3:10 am
Virgin Valley Cab—in Las Vegas? Think there is a Virgin River in UT/NV, but that still seems like an odd name.
The cab companies seem to resent any mode of transportation that doesn’t put money in their coffers. I understand, everybody has to make a living, but cabs alone are insufficient to move people around the Strip. If the economy hadn’t crashed, the Strip would be in near constant gridlock with all the new properties opened. There need to be a few alternatives, preferably ones that can move quite a few people.
At least some lawyers will make few bucks on this silliness.
Written by ColinFromLasVegas on May 7, 2010 at 4:23 am
Nice article of more trivial insanity in Las Vegas, Rex.
I make a suggestion that they change the buses to ACME. That might sol—-
NO! Wait!
Not a good idea.
I just realized Wile E. Coyote has a lock on that already. Buying gadgets from that company that never work in trying to catch the Roadrunner. He’d definitely sue.
Back to the drawing board…..
Written by keith on May 7, 2010 at 4:42 am
this smacks of the Plaza/Plaza lawsuit from a year ago, only not as straightforward. If the 2 plazas were allowed, and someone said “take me to the plaza”, all the driver had to do was say “which one?”. if the customer didn’t know, all the driver had to say was “did you book your room for $200/night, or $20/night?”
as for the name of the cab companies, i never would know what their names were even if the cabbie introduced himself as “i am falawalahiishmaelmuhammed of the Shitsmell No-Shower Cab Co.” it’s times like this you wish judges had the abiity to look at a case and throw it right out before the trial.
Written by edzeplin on May 7, 2010 at 7:54 am
Do a Las Vegas yellow pages search using Ace as the business name and you’ll get 131 listings.
Oscar used to defend gangsters for a living. In this case, he should put down the martini’s long enough to go after the gangster lawyers who think a cab company lawsuit against the RTC for naming buses and bus routes used for public mass transit using that one word infringes upon their reputation and/or copyrights is reasonable and viable. Counter-sue the law firm for frivolity, and make it hurt. Put the mouth pieces out of business so they’ll actually have to go get a real job…..like driving a cab.
Written by joelmama on May 7, 2010 at 9:16 pm
I have to disagree to some point. Ace has registered this trademark for transportation services. Now the key proof they have to present to a court would be that there is some likelyhood of confusion to the public in general caused by the RTC using the Ace name for a bus line. Of course the trademark that Ace applied for is good for “transportation services” This could also include bus lines. They only applied for the mark about a year ago. The RTC screwed up and didn’t do a proper trademark search at the PTO or they would have found this:
Word Mark ACE CAB
Goods and Services IC 039. US 100 105. G & S: Hired car transport; Taxi transport. FIRST USE: 19640129. FIRST USE IN COMMERCE: 19640129
Standard Characters Claimed
Mark Drawing Code (4) STANDARD CHARACTER MARK
Serial Number 77635077
Filing Date December 17, 2008
Current Filing Basis 1A
Original Filing Basis 1A
Published for Opposition May 26, 2009
Registration Number 3666230
Registration Date August 11, 2009
Owner (REGISTRANT) Frias Holding Company CORPORATION NEVADA 5010 South Valley View Blvd. Las Vegas NEVADA 89118
Attorney of Record Mark G. Tratos
Disclaimer NO CLAIM IS MADE TO THE EXCLUSIVE RIGHT TO USE “CAB” APART FROM THE MARK AS SHOWN
Type of Mark SERVICE MARK
Register PRINCIPAL
Live/Dead Indicator LIVE
Written by Casino Barred on May 7, 2010 at 9:45 pm
How crazy for them all to be suing each other. What a waste of time.
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