Park Community CU Battles Park National Bank Over Name
The CU sends a cease-and-desist letter to the bank, demanding it stop using the word "Park." The bank pushes back in court.
An Ohio bank has asked a U.S. District Court to declare that Louisville, Kentucky-based Park Community Credit Union can’t sue it for trademark violations, according to court documents.
In a complaint filed earlier this month, Newark, Ohio-based Park National Bank alleged that Park Community Credit Union threatened to sue it for trademark infringement in order to prevent the bank from using the name “Park National Bank” or any name starting with the word “Park” in Kentucky and southern Indiana.
The credit union, which has $908 million in assets and about 88,000 members, allegedly sent a cease-and-desist letter to the bank in December; it also sent a second cease-and-desist letter in January after learning that the bank planned to open a branch in Louisville, according to the complaint.
The bank, which has about $7.5 billion in assets and operates in Ohio, Kentucky and North Carolina, asked the court to proclaim that it is not infringing on the credit union’s trademarks. It also asked the court to declare that the credit union does not have exclusive rights to the term “Park.”
Park Community Credit Union President and CEO Jim Spradlin acknowledged the credit union did contact the bank about its name.
“Recently, we became aware that Park National was going to be entering our existing market in Louisville,” Spradlin told CU Times. “We reached out to them to advise that we have established and protectable rights in connection with the ‘Park’ name, and to express our concern that it would be confusing to have two financial institutions with such similar names in the same areas we serve. Because we have been in this community for over 50 years and have a well-established and protectable brand presence, we requested that they reconsider the use of the ‘Park’ name in the shared market space.”
“In response, they have filed suit seeking a court ruling that they be permitted to use the name,” he said. “We believe their insistence on using the ‘Park’ name reflects the value and goodwill that we have built in our community over time. We continue to be open to an amicable resolution, but intend to fully enforce our rights if no resolution can be reached.”
But according to the bank, the credit union’s demands are unwarranted because there is no likelihood of confusion between the two financial institutions. In the complaint filed with the District Court, the bank also said the credit union doesn’t control the use of the word “Park.”
Over 100 other credit unions use the word “Park” in their names, it claimed.
“Park National Bank has used the word ‘Park’ in conjunction with its banking and finance services in Ohio and Kentucky since at least 1995. In 2012, the same year that Park Community Credit Union registered its ‘Park Community (and design)’ mark, Park National Bank’s initial deposits and loan value in Kentucky exceeded $230 million,” the bank’s complaint said.
The “Park” in Park Community Credit Union only describes the geographical area that it serves, the bank added.
“Park National Bank has had customers in Kentucky and has operated alongside Park Community Credit Union in Kentucky without any likelihood of confusion for years,” it said.