MLS Commissioner Don Garber says the Cascadia Cup tournament will basically be left to the clubs involved.
The tri-club competition involving Portland Timbers, Seattle Sounders and Vancouver Whitecaps, which takes place within the MLS season, has been around long before MLS started so Garber feels it is not in the interests of the league to change the way it is run.
Although not an official MLS cup just yet, Garber alluded to the fact that down the track, it could become something recognised by the North American domestic competition.
"Our goal is to do what we can to try to protect how that tournament is managed. It does involve our teams," he said.
"We do understand it came way before we were around, but the implication of its misuse could have a real negative effect on our clubs that participate.
"We've had two meetings with the Cascadia Cup Council via telephone. They were productive. We haven't reached an agreement yet, but I'm very confident we'll be able to reach an agreement that'll make sense for the Cascadia Cup Council, for the fans, for the league and our clubs.
"I'm actually quite optimistic."
He added: "Well, it's their (the fans) trademark. It's not our trademark. So our goal is by meeting and talking about what our concerns are, that we could have a mutual agreement on what's best for that tournament.
"I follow all of the Twitter comments and all of the social buzz, and there is a view that we should just stay away from it. That's not really fair. At the end of the day it does involve our teams, it does have implications if it's misused, and I think the leaders of the council understand that.
"The people that we spoke to were professional, they're well-trained. Many of them, if not most of them, were attorneys. They understood our concerns about the potential misuse of the trademark, but it's theirs. So we'll continue to talk to them and see how it can be effectively managed."
