Gap Adventures Changes Name to G Adventures

(Dive Travel Business News - September 29, 2011) -- Toronto-based tour operator Gap Adventures has changed its name to G Adventures, following a June copyright-infringement ruling in a suit brought by clothing giant Gap Inc.

In a June 24 decision in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, Judge Alvin Hellerstein ruled in favor of Gap Inc. on trademark infringement, saying, "Gap Adventures has used similar marks in commerce such that there is likelihood of confusion."

Four days after the ruling, Gap Adventures founder Bruce Poon Tip called the decision "unfounded" in a letter to the industry, and the company said it would appeal the decision. However, in a letter to the industry dated Sept. 27, Poon Tip announced a change in the company name, with no mention of the lawsuit.

Bruce Poon Tip, founder of Toronto-based tour operator Gap Adventures, said he didn’t have the will to continue a legal battle against Gap Inc. “We could have gone into 20 years of appeals if we wanted to. And we could have stayed Gap Adventures,” Poon Tip told Travel Weekly. “I just decided to stop fighting.”

he company decided to change its name anyway to put an end to legal proceedings that have cost more than $5 million.

“They spent four times that. They didn’t beat us, they outspent us,” said Poon Tip. “I just want to be free. I want to be free to do what I know I was meant to do. I wasn’t meant to be in a courtroom feeding lawyers, weighing you down with trying to find paperwork and searching for documents. It’s just exhausting and pointless.”

Poon Tip said Gap Adventures spent a lot of money on traditional brand research to find a new name for the company, but that “ultimately, we decided against all the names that we had tested. ... It was more of an emotional and internal decision in the end.”

Poon Tip said that the company wanted to do something “unique and different” and looked at examples like Overstock.com, which changed its name to O, as well as W Hotels.

“We wanted to do something innovative. We didn’t want to be another travel name. It was a very tough and bold decision in the name. We wanted to own a space,” explained Poon Tip.  "This year, we are taking a bold step with our identity," Poon Tip stated in the letter. "From here on out, we are G Adventures, a change that's both an evolutionary and revolutionary step into the future."

"A brand is defined by its culture, not by a corporate name or a logo — and I have campaigned long and hard to establish an identity for this company that reflects our culture and approach to the world. ... In every way that matters, we’re the same company today that we were yesterday," Poon Tip assured.

The court ruling required Gap Adventures to change its name just in the U.S., but the new name will be effective globally Oct. 1. Starting Sept. 28, the new website will be Gadventures.com. Agent login can be found at Gadventures.com/Sherpa. All Gap Adventures email addresses will change to @gadventures.com. All phone numbers remain the same.

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