A federal judge has declined to issue an injunction preventing the Tennessee town of Lake City from changing its name to Rocky Top to take advantage of the strong identity of the Bluegrass tune that is the fight song of the University of Tennessee at Knoxville.
The city council voted yesterday to start the process of changing the name, after U.S. District Judge Thomas Varlan ruled against House of Bryant, the music publishing company founded by the late Boudleaux and Felice Bryant, who wrote the song in the Great Smoky Mountains town of Gatlinburg in 1967. Lake City, population 1,800, lies between the Cumberland Mountains and the westernmost arm of Norris Lake, the first Tennessee Valley Authority project. The town was called Coal Creek before the lake was impounded in the mid-1930s.
The state legislature and Gov. Bill Haslam have already enacted a law allowing the change, which is being sought by a developer. "Rocky Top Tennessee Marketing and Manufacturing Co. . . . has proposed a development that could be worth up to $450 million over six years and include an indoor and outdoor water park, coal miners’ theater, children’s museum, train rides, restaurant, and a candy company on some 300 acres near two exits off Interstate 75," reports John Huotari of Oak Ridge Today. "Officials have said it could bring 200 new jobs to Lake City and generate another $6 million in sales tax per year. But the project hinges on the name change."
The music publishing firm filed suit in March, saying the name change “is an attempt to unfairly exploit the fame and goodwill of House of Bryant’s intellectual property.” The suit also alleges trademark infringement, false advertising, unlawful taking, deceptive trade practices and unfair competition. "Varlan ruled that Lake City likely would not infringe on House of Bryant's copyright because the town does not intend to use the name for commercial purposes," reports Travis Loller of The Associated Press. "Varlan also denied a request to put the brakes on the developers' plans, saying it was too early to issue an injunction on proposals that may never come to fruition."
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| Google map: Lake City is pinned, Rocky Top is starred |
The state legislature and Gov. Bill Haslam have already enacted a law allowing the change, which is being sought by a developer. "Rocky Top Tennessee Marketing and Manufacturing Co. . . . has proposed a development that could be worth up to $450 million over six years and include an indoor and outdoor water park, coal miners’ theater, children’s museum, train rides, restaurant, and a candy company on some 300 acres near two exits off Interstate 75," reports John Huotari of Oak Ridge Today. "Officials have said it could bring 200 new jobs to Lake City and generate another $6 million in sales tax per year. But the project hinges on the name change."
The music publishing firm filed suit in March, saying the name change “is an attempt to unfairly exploit the fame and goodwill of House of Bryant’s intellectual property.” The suit also alleges trademark infringement, false advertising, unlawful taking, deceptive trade practices and unfair competition. "Varlan ruled that Lake City likely would not infringe on House of Bryant's copyright because the town does not intend to use the name for commercial purposes," reports Travis Loller of The Associated Press. "Varlan also denied a request to put the brakes on the developers' plans, saying it was too early to issue an injunction on proposals that may never come to fruition."
House of Bryant contends that the name change would open the door to commercial exploitation of the name because it would make Rocky Top "merely a
geographic reference," Loller reports. The suit says the song refers to "a fictional or idyllic place," though a peak in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park bears the name.
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