PORTLAND, Ore. September was a significant month for MTR Western, an ambitious coach company operating in the Pacific Northwest, as it was named one of the nation's fastest growing private companies and it won a trademark infringement case.

The September issue of Inc. magazine lists Seattle-based MTR Western as the 166th fastest growing small private company in the U.S.

That designation put MTR Western on both the Inc. 500 and new Inc. 5,000 lists of up-and-coming companies.

According to Inc., tour-and-charter operator MTR Western has grown from annual revenues of $1.2 million in 2003, to $15.4 million last year. A growth rate of more than 1,200 percent.

MTR Western President and CEO Darren Berg said the inclusion of his company marked the first time -- in the 26-year history of the Inc. 500 -- a motorcoach company has appeared on the list.

Also last month, a U.S. magistrate in Portland found that a company doing business as MCR-West had infringed on MTR Western's trademark.

According to court records and the magistrate's decision, the trademark case developed when two Ukrainian immigrant brothers, Nikolay and Vitaly Yuzko, formed a coach company last year after reading an article about MTR Western and its achievements. The brothers decided to copy MTR Western's success, quite literally.

First, they went out and purchased a used, white-painted Prevost, which is the same coach that comprises the bulk of MTR Westerns fleet. To learn more about the business, the brothers visited MTR Westerns facility in Portland and talked to its sales manager, who shared information about where they could obtain service and maintenance.

For their new business, the brothers adopted the name MCR West, and added a decal on one side of their coach with the same tag line used by MTR Western ("Proudly Owned and Operated By"), preceding the USDOT operating authority information.

The Yuzkos also set up a Website www.mcr-west.com, and had business cards developed and printed that used a swirl design in gold and black thats very similar to the swirl-design logo used by MTR Western.

When MTR Western found out what the Yuzkos were doing it acted aggressively and swiftly -- too aggressively and swiftly, in the courts opinion.

Upon being served with a summons and complaint, the Yuzkos destroyed their business cards, took down their Website, and stipulated to a preliminary injunction. Before trial, they stipulated to entry of a permanent injunction.

In her decision, U.S. Magistrate Janice M. Stewart said the Yuzkos were "novice" businessmen who acted "out of ignorance."

She said there was no evidence the Yuzkos were attempting to steal customers from MTR Western, and its one unpainted coach "posed no serious competition" to MTR Western, which operates 30 coaches in the Portland area.

She said MTR Western acted hastily by making threats, which did little to persuade the Yuzkos to cooperate and stop their deceptive practices, and then filed suit only a few weeks after learning of the Yuzkos' existence.

The court said MTR Western attorneys should have sent a cease-and-desist letter before rushing into court. Stewart declined to award MTR Western attorney fees.