CityCenter, tour operator battle over use of store name

By Steve Green

Friday, Oct. 30, 2009 | 10:47 a.m.

A legal dispute has emerged pitting MGM Mirage's CityCenter against an air tour operator over the name of a CityCenter retail store.

MGM Mirage's CityCenter Land LLC filed suit Thursday in Las Vegas against Grand Canyon tour operator Papillon Airways Inc. over the dispute involving a high-end store planned for the 500,000-square-foot The Crystals retail and dining complex at CityCenter.

Attorneys for CityCenter said in the federal lawsuit that CityCenter will own a retail store at the Crystals using the name "Papillon" -- French for butterfly.

The Papillon store will sell high-end designer brand handbags, wallets, belts, scarves, jewelry, hats, and gloves with prices primarily ranging from about $500 to more than $10,000 per item, CityCenter said.

CityCenter, which intends to open in December, said in its suit that it filed a trademark application for use of the "Papillon" word covering retail stores featuring handbags, wallets, belts, scarves, jewelry, hats and gloves.

CityCenter filed suit against Papillon Airways after attorneys for Papillon on Sept. 3 demanded that CityCenter not use the Papillon name because Papillon owns that trademark for items including bumper stickers, calendars, post cards and clothing sold in connection with the promotion of its aircraft and bus tour services.

Papillon, which operates from airports in Las Vegas, Boulder City and the South Rim of the Grand Canyon, told CityCenter that the Crystals' use of the Papillon name may cause public confusion as consumers may mistake Crystals' Papillon with the goods Papillon Airways sells at its gift shops.

CityCenter charged in its lawsuit that consumers won't mistake its high-cost luxury goods with the low-cost bumper stickers, post cards and other souvenirs sold by Papillon Airways.

The suit, seeking a declaration that CityCenter isn't infringing on Papillon Airways' rights, was filed by attorneys with the Las Vegas office of the law firm Lewis and Roca LLP.

Other luxury retailers opening at Crystals at CityCenter include Louis Vuitton, Hermes, Prada, Christian Dior, Bulgari, Van Cleef & Arpels, Tiffany, Mikimoto and Ermenegildo Zegna.

Crystals says unique-to-the-market retailers will include Tom Ford, Assouline, Kiton, Miu Miu, Paul Smith, Porsche Design, de Grisogono, H. Stern, Marni and Boutique Tourbillon.