Aug. 23, 2003 - No sooner were Mayor Juan Carlos Bermudez and four council members sworn in as the newly elected Doral government this week, amid congratulations and champagne, than they faced a sticky dilemma: How to keep the name "Doral" for their new city.

At issue: The company that owns the name of the famous Doral Golf Resort & Spa wants to control who uses the name "Doral." To do that, it has asked the two-month-old city west of Miami International Airport to pay an annual $1,000 licensing fee to call itself Doral. And it wants veto power over what other businesses use the name.

"About 30 years too late," said Jorge Espinosa, a trademark attorney hired Friday by the new city to defend its name.

Indeed, the Miami phone book lists 112 businesses named "Doral" -- among them, a laundromat, a flower shop, a gas station and a cafe.

But it is not these businesses that Maristar, which owns the trademark on the resort's name, is worried about.

It's a competing luxury hotel that concerns them, says Lawrence Ashe, attorney for Meristar; KSL, the resort's parent company; and the resort.

"We don't want to fight the city," Ashe said.

"We want a close-knit community with the name 'Doral,' but we don't want competitive businesses to use our name." In November, Meristar sued the Intercontinental Doral Hotel for using 'Doral' in its name.

In response, the Intercontinental temporarily changed the name to "Intercontinental West Miami." But attorneys say if Doral is the name of the city where the Intercontinental is, it clears the way for Intercontinental to use "Doral" because businesses can use geographical locations in their names, regardless of trademarks.

What the resort really wants, Ashe says, is for the city to take the Doral name with the understanding that the city will get its permission each time a business wants to use the name.

"We don't want to be caught in the middle of who gets occupational licenses," Bermudez, the mayor, said. "We don't see our role as watchdog for Meristar."

Doral was swampland until real-estate magnate Al Kaskell bought it in the 1950s. Soon after it was drained, he combined "Doris," his wife's name, with "Al" to come up with "Doral." He then built the world famous golf course, which opened with a $100,000 tournament purse.

Later, the resort complex was built.

The mayor says he hopes the battle doesn't get expensive, and that lawyers come to an agreement at Wednesday's council meeting.

"As a new city, we have better things to spend our money and time on," Bermudez said.

-----To see more of The Miami Herald -- including its homes, jobs, cars and other classified listings -- or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.herald.com.

(c) 2003, The Miami Herald. Distributed by Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News.