EDITORIAL:

There’s a component to surfing known as “localism” in which those who frequent a particular surf spot try to drive away newcomers by means of rude and aggressive behavior.

The practice, though generally acknowledged as unbecoming, is widely used. It’s the antithesis of the “spirit of aloha,” which emanates from Polynesia, which gave birth to surfing.

Thankfully, a federal lawsuit pitting Huntington Beach and Santa Cruz against each other over which has the commercial right to the name “Surf City” is ending. It’s been a silly and embarrassing turf war on a grand scale.

It started out as a friendly rivalry between two towns with viable claims to the moniker. But once the Huntington Beach Conference and Visitors Bureau tried to register the mark with the federal U.S. Patent and Trademark Office — and therefore claim exclusive rights to the name “Surf City” — the row turned ugly. We may as well have spray painted expletives on each others’ sport utility vehicles.

That’s what happens, as they say, when profits are involved.

Santa Cruz retailers countered with a lawsuit, followed by months of legal wrangling until it was announced that a settlement is in the works.

We’re left wondering: What really gives a place a right to the title?

Geographically of course, it needs to be ocean side, which narrows the field of contenders. And it should have decent waves, surf contests and a few surf shops. Also, some crusty old guys with pterygium parked at the beach with 10-foot, triple-stringers hanging over the backs of their trucks.

That qualifies a lot of places, from Huntington to Haleiwa.

We raise the stereotype if only to point out that such idyllic visions of “Surf City” seem quaint to us, after witnessing this trademark turf war. More and more, the “Surf City USA” logo is becoming our very own emblem of corporate greed.

And the spirit of the place-name is getting lost in the process, supplanted by visions of “licensing agreements” and “marketing partnerships.”

Through the wonder of legal documents, Huntington Beach makes money off root beer, beach cruisers, a marathon event and, soon, countless other things and experiences. That’s fantastic, but why shouldn’t Santa Cruz be able to do the same thing? How does Huntington Beach lose anything?

More and more, the surf image is co-opted to serve business and tourism. Protecting a trademark, as Huntington Beach Conference and Visitors Bureau President Doug Traub can tell you, is practically a full-time job. The surf industry, which has deep roots here, ran out of originators long ago, and perpetuates itself by finding new ways in which to license the rights to what it seems to think is a finite resource. The trick for companies, including the city of Huntington Beach, is in not losing our soul in the process.

There are plenty waves. Let the other guy have some.