In the Arts: Wolf Trap Sues Rural Va. Culture Center Over ‘Barns’ Name
January 19, 2012 | Read Time: 2 minutes
Wolf Trap, the Northern Virginia venue that draws major musicians and touring productions to its Barns at Wolf Trap, is pursuing a trademark-infringement claim against a rural arts center that opened last year using a similar name, writes The Washington Post.
The Barns of Rose Hill, in Berryville, Va., about 50 miles from Wolf Trap, was served papers last week in the suit filed Dec. 14. Wolf Trap registered “The Barns” with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office in October, a month after the nonprofit Rose Hill center began presenting art, music, and film events at a converted dairy farm.
“We certainly aren’t trying to hurt Rose Hill in any way. But we do have to protect our trademark,” Beth Brummel, Wolf Trap’s vice president for external affairs, told The Post’s State of NoVa blog.
In other arts news:
● The opening of billionaire philanthropist Eli Broad’s art museum at Michigan State University has been pushed back several months due to delays in meeting the exacting specifications of architect Zaha Hadid’s design, the Lansing State Journal says.
Originally slated to open in late April, the Eli and Edythe Broad Art Museum will now debut in the fall. University officials said the large trapezoidal panes of glass that will cover most of museum’s surface must be precise within 2 millimeters, and it takes time to remanufacture those that don’t fit.
The delay is not expected to increase the cost of the project, estimated at $40-million to $45-million, or change plans for opening exhibitions.
● Lawyers for a long-planned U.S. National Slavery Museum in Fredericksburg, Va., say the organization behind the effort is taking steps to kick-start the stalled project and resume fundraising, The Washington Post reports.
On Wednesday a judge gave the group 30 days to come up with a reorganization plan for the project launched by former Virginia Gov. L. Douglas Wilder, which has languished for several years and owes hundreds of thousands of dollars in unpaid property taxes and business debts.
