Don’t say “gut.” Don’t even say “cruise.”

Downtown merchants and the city of Vancouver were warned July 7 by a law firm representing Cruisin’ the Gut, the erstwhile annual Vancouver car cruise-in, to stop marketing a July 15 replacement outing as if it’s a continuation of the very same event.

Naming the new event Cruise the Couve amounts to “blatant misappropriation of Cruisin’ the Gut’s identity, trademark and goodwill,” and a violation of “valuable intellectual property rights. This misappropriation is knowing, willful and ongoing.”

That’s according to Rylander and Associates, a Vancouver law firm that specializes in trademark and copyright law. On July 7, Rylander notified the city of Vancouver, Mayor Tim Leavitt, City Councilor Jack Burkman and the Main Street businesses and groups that rapidly formed up a new event steering committee, to stop associating their new event with the old one in any way.

Those Main Street businesses and groups include: the Uptown Village Association, Vancouver’s Downtown Association, Tip Top Tavern, Vancouver Pizza Company, the Uptown Barrel Room, Salmon Creek Outfitters, Zzoom Media and Trap Door Brewing, whose owner, Bryan Shull, has been the leader of this effort.

Cruisin’ the Gut is accusing those agencies and businesses, and the city, of “freeloading” — using the previous name and association to generate profits and tax revenues — while creating competition which “continues to damage Cruisin’ the Gut’s ability to market and sell its event in other locations.”