Anyone can claim anything as their trademark without registering with the USPTO. Registration is most useful as proof of using the term in commerce first, and also letting other businesses know that the term is already in use as a trademark.
Trademarks aren't examined for validity prior to registration, as patents are. Most are barely even glanced at until a court case brings one into question. All the trademark judges should already know that "backcountry" is not a defensible trademark, but the USPTO is not under any obligation to alert filers that their trademark won't hold up under scrutiny. They can send out as many C&D letters as they please, and maybe secure exclusivity that way, but if anyone had the resources to fight it (as the VC-backed firm they chose not to C&D), they would surely lose. As would the firm that chose to fight, because IP attorneys are expensive, and the court battles are long and protracted, especially if one side is using the process as a weapon.
> Trademarks aren't examined for validity prior to registration, as patents are.
Well, it sounds like that's the problem right there. It seems like it would be a lot more efficient to hire a few people at the USPTO to review applications instead of spending millions of dollars in lawsuits.
Trademark attorney-ing is a lucrative business. Don't go assuming that trademark law is set up entirely for the benefit of business-owners and their customers.
Trademarks aren't examined for validity prior to registration, as patents are. Most are barely even glanced at until a court case brings one into question. All the trademark judges should already know that "backcountry" is not a defensible trademark, but the USPTO is not under any obligation to alert filers that their trademark won't hold up under scrutiny. They can send out as many C&D letters as they please, and maybe secure exclusivity that way, but if anyone had the resources to fight it (as the VC-backed firm they chose not to C&D), they would surely lose. As would the firm that chose to fight, because IP attorneys are expensive, and the court battles are long and protracted, especially if one side is using the process as a weapon.