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Wayne County Judge seeks to trademark Detroit’s River Walk

Detroit River Front

If the name is Detroit Riverwalk is available for trademark, then Wayne County Probate Court Judge Terrance Keith is taking it. Crain’s Detroit Business reported the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office Keith filed two trademark applications last month: “The Detroit RiverWalk” and “RiverWalk Detroit.” Keith grabbed the names from the nonprofit group that built the River Walk and he plan on making money by selling t-shirts, hats, and hoodies with the trademarks on them. The conservancy, launched in 2003 to boost public access to the riverfront and stimulate economic revitalization, was unaware of Keith’s trademark applications until being told by Crain’s Detroit Business. Detroit RiverFront Conservancy officials failed to trademark the name after the RiverWalk debuted in 2007. The move to sell merchandise stamped with the RiverWalk name could mean, if unchallenged, the nonprofit loses a potential revenue stream at a time when the riverfront is poised for expansion.