Atascadero Daily News gets a new name: A-Town Daily News

Posted: 3:40 pm, July 27, 2015 by Skye Pratt

Access Publishing responds to cease and desist from News Media Corp.

– Access Publishing, which produces the Paso Robles Daily News and the Atascadero Daily News, has sent a response to a cease and desist letter from News Media Corp.,

The cease and desist letter threatens a lawsuit and claims News Media Corp. owns trademark rights to both the Atascadero News and Atascadero Daily News. According to the US Patent and Trademark Office, no one has registered either name.

Brennan has decided to change the name to A-Town Daily News, to avoid the potential legal battle with the media conglomerate, he says. The change will be made this week, he says.

“A-Town is an endearing local nickname for Atascadero that residents have been using for decades,” Brennan says. “It’s also a great fit with our website address atowndailynews.com.”

John Tompkins, the president of News Media Corp., owns more than 70 newspapers throughout the country. Access Publishing has been operating The Paso Robles Daily News since 2012, and, due to the site’s success, launched the Atascadero Daily News two months ago.

Brennan received the cease and desist about a month after receiving a threatening voicemail from Tompkins.

Access Publishing’s response to the cease and desist reads:

Dear Mr. Stroy:

This a response to your July 22, 2015 letter claiming my company is violating your client’s purported trademark by using the name Atascadero Daily News. You asked me to confirm in writing by 5 p.m. on July 27, 2015 that we will stop using the name Atascadero Daily News. Please accept this as my confirmation.

I feel confident that use of the name Atascadero Daily News does not infringe on your client’s purported trademark rights. The name is simply a generic description of what our company provides – news to readers in the Atascadero area on a daily basis.

However, I would rather devote my time and attention to our growing business, than spend energy and resources on potentially protracted litigation.

I therefore agree to cease using the name Atascadero Daily News and I will replace it with A-Town Daily News. This change will leave the generic “news” as the only common word in the titles of our respective publications. I have already discontinued using the Twitter handle @atascaderonews and replaced it with @atowndailynews.