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Thread: Is AirVenture Dying?

  1. #21
    FlyingRon's Avatar
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    Sorry, JIM. That's legally not true. First off, registration is not the some total of trademark rights. Trademark rights arise from use in commerce. Obviously your statement in demonstrably false as two companies already have registered trademarks. They coexist because there's no likelihood of confusion between a pair of overalls and an industrial truck.

    First off, the EAA never called it the "Oshkosh Air Show" or whatever. Hence they never really had trademark rights to that name. Further, a geographical mark has a weakness. You don't own the word "Oshkosh" by itself. Hence the EAA couldn't prohibit someone outside the gates selling T-shirts with the Word "OSHKOSH" and a picture of an airplane. They enforced it on the grounds by just making it a condition of your booth rental.

    Airventure being a "fanciful" name is a much stronger mark. The problem, is that it really never achieved the level of fame that really allowed them to capitalize on it, because people continue to refer to it as Oshkosh (or the EAA depending on where you're from).

  2. #22

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    We are from the East Coast and have been attending since '83'. Looking forward to the day we put our "Oshkosh Bound" sign with planes on it, in the window of our motorhome. We enjoys the "Honks", "Beeps" and "thumbs up" as we make our journey to "Oshkosh". And as usual, we are saddened when we have to take it down. It's not just about the wonderful experience that we have inside the gates of the convention but also outside the gates. It began as "Oshkosh" as those first emotional memories were imprinted in our brains and hearts as we finally drove that last tenth of a mile from our 16-17 hour drive as we realized we were in "Oshkosh Wisconsin". Then it continued as we first walked through the gates on opening day as people said welcome to "Oshkosh". Every year it has been enriched by the people we meet from "Oshkosh" who drive the buses we get around in, work in the stores we purchase from, get us the extra blankets and pillows when we have stayed at the dorms, and serve us in the restaurants that we eat at. No matter what it is called - EAA, AirVenture, The Convention, etc, It will always be "Oshkosh" to us. See you there - "Oshkosh Bound 2015".
    Last edited by Foxbuilder; 01-18-2015 at 06:52 PM. Reason: addition

  3. #23
    rwanttaja's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by FlyingRon View Post
    Further, a geographical mark has a weakness. You don't own the word "Oshkosh" by itself. Hence the EAA couldn't prohibit someone outside the gates selling T-shirts with the Word "OSHKOSH" and a picture of an airplane. They enforced it on the grounds by just making it a condition of your booth rental.
    We had that come up in Washington state a few years back, when the Winter Olympics were in Vancouver BC, just north of us. The trademark people starting coming after businesses with "Olympic" in their name...only to have the Olympic Mountain range pointed out, and were invited to prove the business were named after the games, not the mountains.

    Ron Wanttaja

  4. #24

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    I like EAA Airventure! Oshkosh is just a destination. Most people don't know this, Oshkosh has a population of around 70,000 people and more than half of them don't like AirVenture in their city. Which I don't understand it's only for a week and bring in a lot of money. Residence plan their vacation during Airventure. I've been coming to Oshosh since I was 8 now I'm 47 and residents still complain. EAA knows this that why they want attendees to stay on the grounds and offer different nightly actives. In the past years the city use to offer school bus rides to downtown and to different bar locations around town. Now when you go downtown or by UW Oshkosh you won't think that there is over 300,000 people in this small city on a Friday or Saturday night.

  5. #25
    Mayhemxpc's Avatar
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    Just a couple of thoughts here, which may or may not have any factual evidence to support it.

    If I knew that 500,000 people were going to decend on my hometown, I might think that is a good time for a vacation, too. That is irrespective about my personal feelings about the event.

    The end of July is when a lot of people are on vacation. The original deal with my wife was that we would go to OSH every other year and go somewhere else at that time on alternate years. (That lasted for one biennial period only and we are now going to EAA every year)

    Some people also know that they can make a fair amount of money by leasing their homes out during that time period. It is even easier to do so now with the various on-line bookings for vacation residences. (I don't use them, myself. I kind of like the camping experience, but that may change with age…but maybe not.)

    I have been to Oshkosh during Airventure and outside of Airventure periods. In either period I find the people of Oshkosh friendly and accommodating. That said, there are always those who will complain about anything. The voices of complainers seem to be the loudest and demand the most attention regardless of where, when, or why. To be fair, Airventure does completely mess up traffic flow along the west side of Lake Winnebago for about two weeks. (Annual summer road construction just adds to the frustration for the rest of the summer.) That is enough to make most people unhappy. Even I would complain about that if I lived in Oshkosh for more than 8 days a year.

    About the subject of Oshkosh/EAA/AirVenture? I guess it depends who you are talking to. For some, Oshkosh means the home of outlet malls. For others, the university. In the military and transportation world it is the other side of the airfield. (For those who got a veteran's hat last year, the block letter OSHKOSH on the side of the hat does not refer to EAA or the town, but the maker of all of those trucks that moved and often protected the vets in other parts of the world.) For others, of course, OshKosh is where children's denim clothes come from. If local merchants want to sell clothes with their town name and an airplane on it, so what? We came to Oshkosh WI, we flew or saw airplanes, and bought the T-shirt. If you want an EAA logo on it, however, you better go thru the holder of the trademark.
    Chris Mayer
    N424AF
    www.o2cricket.com

  6. #26
    FlyingRon's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Tango View Post
    I like EAA Airventure! Oshkosh is just a destination. Most people don't know this, Oshkosh has a population of around 70,000 people and more than half of them don't like AirVenture in their city.
    I that is their attitude, they are politely quiet about it. I've never felt anything but cordiality from the locals when I came in for "the EAA" which includes all sorts of things like a guy who saw us walking down main street going home and getting his car to give us a ride to the airport which we told him we really didn't need (but we appreciated).

  7. #27
    Byron J. Covey
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    Quote Originally Posted by Tango View Post
    I like EAA Airventure! Oshkosh is just a destination. Most people don't know this, Oshkosh has a population of around 70,000 people and more than half of them don't like AirVenture in their city. Which I don't understand it's only for a week and bring in a lot of money. Residence plan their vacation during Airventure. I've been coming to Oshosh since I was 8 now I'm 47 and residents still complain. EAA knows this that why they want attendees to stay on the grounds and offer different nightly actives. In the past years the city use to offer school bus rides to downtown and to different bar locations around town. Now when you go downtown or by UW Oshkosh you won't think that there is over 300,000 people in this small city on a Friday or Saturday night.
    Tango:

    Please post a link to the survey that supports the statement that "more than half of them [Oshkosh residents] don't like AirVenture in their city." My experience has been nothing but positive with the people who live in and around Oshkosh. (Even though they don't seem to like the Poberezeny's and the take-over of the land that is now part of the convention grounds.)

    Thanks,


    BJC
    Last edited by Byron J. Covey; 02-02-2015 at 06:42 AM.

  8. #28
    Aaron Novak's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Tango View Post
    I like EAA Airventure! Oshkosh is just a destination. Most people don't know this, Oshkosh has a population of around 70,000 people and more than half of them don't like AirVenture in their city. Which I don't understand it's only for a week and bring in a lot of money. Residence plan their vacation during Airventure. I've been coming to Oshosh since I was 8 now I'm 47 and residents still complain. EAA knows this that why they want attendees to stay on the grounds and offer different nightly actives. In the past years the city use to offer school bus rides to downtown and to different bar locations around town. Now when you go downtown or by UW Oshkosh you won't think that there is over 300,000 people in this small city on a Friday or Saturday night.

    Yeah not sure where you pulled that from. There are a few major events that come to oshkosh, the convention being one, Country USA being another, Pathfinders being a third. I hear a good percentage of the population here gripe about the country music festival and the Pathfinders, and very very few gripe about EAA. In fact most people comment how clean the EAA'ers leave the grounds and city, as opposed to the other groups, and in general what a nice bunch of people it is.

  9. #29
    Joe Delene's Avatar
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    As far as crowds and attraction participants go, the 'Airventure' patrons rate well above average, in my opinion. I'd think that the vast majority of local residents appreciate having the event in their town. Yes there are some traffic backups, as with any large event.

  10. #30
    L16 Pilot's Avatar
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    When they charge $250 or more for a Motel 6 someone has to be making money. Seriously, I've been coming to Oshkosh EAA since the first one (1969 or 1970??) and I've never found anyone complaining about the convention although I do suspect some are not happy about the 'expanding grounds' and probably the airplane noise which sounds like music to me. I'd like to see a grass strip to land a quirky tail dragger on when there's a nasty cross wind.
    If God had intended man to fly He would have given us more money!

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