The Issue
James Durkee’s father, Ray, was a radio talk show host for nearly 40 years whose listeners spanned 100 stations and eagerly awaited his Sunday broadcasts, “Sunday at the Memories.” Ray launched his “Sunday at the Memories” show in Denver in 
1973, a nostalgia-oriented show that featured music of a bygone era along with news, sporting events, movies, commercials, TV shows and just about anything else that would take listeners back in time to the ’40s, ’50s or ’60s. The hugely successful show created what James calls “theater of the mind” and its ratings rivaled that of the Denver Broncos.
As the show’s popularity grew, Ray created a new, three-hour show to sell to stations across the United States, eventually finding syndication in 100 stations at its peak. By the early 1980s, “Sunday at the Memories” had an audience from Washington to Maine as well as Hawaii and Guam, and the Aramco Oil Company even played the show for its American workers in Saudi Arabia.
Ray syndicated the show from his home for 15 years before retiring in 1990.
Believing in the value that the show had for its listeners, James Durkee set out to archive his father’s shows, bringing more than 1,500 hours of memories to the Internet and hoping to give them encore presentations on the radio.
The Solution
James needed legal guidance on how to go about preserving and protecting his father’s legacy, so he sought out Leyendecker & Lemire in February 2015.
The team at L&L helped James do a trademark search and file a trademark for “Sunday at the Memories.” L&L was “very simple and easy to communicate with and engage with for the work being performed,” James said.
Since working with L&L, James has begun to stream his father’s shows online at SundayAtTheMemories.com and once again secured the show a spot on the radio dial from 4-7 p.m. Sundays on Cruisin’ 950 AM in Denver.
James’ trademark application has made its way through the review process at the U.S. Patent and Trademark office and is expected to receive registration this summer.
