PARK CITY — Handwritten on a brown paper banner, a group of Park City residents declared: "We are a town, not a trademark."

That was the message shared by an estimated 250 protesters outside City Hall on Wednesday as the CEO of Vail Resorts, Robert Katz, arrived for a closed-door meeting about the company's effort to legally claim the name Park City.

Included in protesters' homemade signs for Katz were posters declaring "Don't de-Vail-ue us," "Vail fails" and "Vail, the new bully in town." Together, protesters danced, sang along as a local musician covered The Beatles, and planned additional protests, all while Park City Mayor Jack Thomas met with Katz inside about Vail's trademark application.

At the same time, Park City officials were granted a 60-day extension to continue negotiations with the Colorado-based company.

Vail Resorts, which bought Park City Mountain Resort for $182.5 million in late 2014 and merged it with the neighboring Canyons resort it already owned, filed an application in May to trademark the Park City brand, meaning the resort would own the rights to the phrase "Park City."

Former Mayor Dana Williams, who helped organize the demonstration, said the company has been disingenuous since it came in saying it wanted to become part of the tight-knit community.

"We welcomed this company to town a couple of years ago with open arms," Williams told the group, noting that Vail has made many positive changes to the area.

But when it comes to the trademark application, "this is too far," he said.

Adam Cole, 33, who was among many protesters wearing "Born in PC" hats, said things have changed "for the good and the bad" since Vail arrived. Cole said the convenient "mountain lifestyle" has kept him in Park City for his whole life.

"I think everyone has the right to use Park City in their name if they want," Cole said. "We weren't started as a ski area. We started as a town. … (Vail) brings great things to Park City, but they don't by any means own our town."

Unless Vail agrees in writing that the trademark would not impact local businesses that use Park City in their names, city leaders are considering opposing the effort in court.

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While Katz chatted comfortably with protesters for several minutes on his way inside, the crowd had dispersed by the time the nearly two-hour meeting ended. The CEO dodged questions from reporters as he rushed from the building.

"We very much appreciate them sharing their feedback and their concerns," Katz said as he left, applauding residents' "dedication" and "passion."

Katz did not answer questions about whether local companies with Park City in their names would run afoul of the trademark. Some residents claim businesses have already been targeted.

The Park City Council had attorneys put in writing the promises Vail representatives made verbally to the public, but the company refused to sign, Thomas said earlier this month.

After Katz left, Thomas said Vail will review the document and come back in a week with feedback. The mayor called the meeting "a serious conversation about our differences."

"We're committed to protecting the community's interest, and we're not going to back down from that," he said. "This is very much in the heart of all of us."

Thomas said he will be asking the City Council to decide whether to fight the application in court.

Vail intends to refer to the resort in its marketing as simply "Park City," without any words like "resort" attached to it. In Wednesday's meeting, Thomas said Katz acknowledged that signs to that effect around town are already creating confusion for visitors.

"They did indeed agree to clearing up some of the signage issues within the city itself, so I think we'll see some movement there, probably right away," Thomas said.

However, there was "no traction" Wednesday in conversations about altering the marketing campaign in general, the mayor said.

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