Under Armour trademark dispute hits family start-up company in Idaho

BOISE, Idaho — What’s in a name? For Alex Short, the answer is everything. Short and his wife, Diana, own a clothing start-up whose name, Cascade Armory, has landed them in a trademark dispute with retail giant Under Armour.

The Idaho Press reports the company officially formed in late 2017, but the way Short, who works at Micron Technology, tells it, it really started years ago, when the couple was still in college. Advertising through Myspace and word of mouth, they sold clothes to their friends and classmates out of their dorm rooms. Short says it got them through college, after which they both pursued their separate careers.

They couldn’t escape the dream. Eventually, they decided to “go all in,” Short said, and spend their life savings starting Cascade Armory. The clothes were designed with the Shorts’ community in mind — flannel button-ups, hoodies and beanies make up the unofficial uniform of Bend, Oregon, where the company is located. Currently, Diana Short lives there with the couple’s two children, while Alex splits his time between Boise and Bend.

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