Michael Rubinkam

Like a pot of pierogies left on the stove too long, a trademark dispute involving the name of the popular Polish delicacy is threatening to boil over. Four years ago, civic-minded residents of Edwardsville, Pennsylvania, launched a festival tied to the pierogi, the potato-filled dumpling that’s ubiquitous in a region whose coal mines drew waves of Polish immigrants more than a century ago. The Edwardsville Pierogi Festival has been a rousing success — so much so that it’s caught the attention of a chamber of commerce in suburban Chicago, which runs a highly popular “Pierogi Fest” and says the Pennsylvania upstarts are infringing on its trademark. Lawyers for Pierogi Fest recently sent a letter demanding the Edwardsville organizers either stop using the name or pay a licensing fee. I