Colleges Tell High Schools Logos Are Off Limits

By ADAM HIMMELSBACH

Published: November 26, 2010

Glades Day School sits on the edge of swampland in Belle Glade, Fla., and its headmaster, Dr. Robert Egley, often drives past alligators lazing in canals on his way to work. When the school was founded in 1965, its location made the Gator an ideal mascot, and its logo, aside from being green and gold, was nearly identical to the University of Florida’s.

“It just hurts; it has a sting to it,” Egley said. “We send them our students, we send them our money and we support them. It just flies in the face of common sense that they would come after us.”

Universities steadfastly protect their trademarked logos, which appear on everything from oven mitts to underwear, and their reach is increasingly stretching toward high schools. If a school’s logo can be confused with a university’s, or if it is capable of diluting its value, the universities often demand changes.

As high school sports have become more prevalent on television and the Internet, potential infringements have become more visible to licensing companies, universities and whistle-blowing college fans.

“Everybody’s aware now, and there’s nowhere to hide,” said Rob Cleveland, Ohio State’s assistant director for trademarks and licensing.

Universities have confronted high schools with which they have no discernible connection.Penn State, for instance, told Buna High School — 1,400 miles away in Texas — to change a Cougar logo that looked like its Nittany Lion. The University of Texas demanded that Gardner Edgerton High School in Kansas alter its Trailblazer logo, which was similar to the Longhorns’ design. Pittsburgh instructed Whitmer High in Toledo, Ohio, to stop using its Panther mark.

The high schools must change logos on uniforms, repaint logo-covered walls and gym floors, and modify Web sites. Most are allowed to phase out the designs over several years to reduce the expense, though Egley said it would ultimately cost about $60,000 to replace the Gator logos.

Like most schools, Glades Day chose to comply with Florida’s request rather than fight it in court.

"The problem when you’re a defendant is you can spend the money to fight it, and if you lose, you also have to spend the money to change everything," said Dineen Wasylik, a trademark lawyer based in Tampa, Fla.

“It’s not something we target, and it’s not something we look for,” said Jim Aronowitz, associate general counsel for the Collegiate Licensing Company, which represents about 160 colleges and universities. “But when it comes to our attention or our client’s attention, as trademark owners, there is a responsibility to address these issues.”

High schools have recently become more vigilant in protecting their designs as well, albeit on a smaller scale. Some stores sold unlicensed merchandise bearing logos of high schools, and the schools did not receive royalties.

So last year, the Licensing Resource Group and the National Federation of State High School Associations created a merchandising program. But as more schools join, the risk increases that some will be discovered selling apparel that bears logos similar to those owned by universities.

Although it seems the universities are motivated by money when they approach schools that are supplementing their dwindling athletic budgets, that is not necessarily the case.

“If they systematically don’t protect their rights, then down the road someone who does really want to rip them off could theoretically have a defense,” said Marty Brochstein, senior vice president of the International Licensing Industry Merchandisers’ Association. “They could say, ’Well, if you didn’t protect the mark then, why are you protecting it now?’ ”

For many years, it was difficult for universities to learn of infringements. If a high school in North Dakota had a logo that was similar to one owned by a university in North Carolina, it likely went unnoticed. Today, logos are just a click away.

Glades Day School’s logo came under scrutiny after its state championship football game was televised last December. At Buna High, the assistant principal Nathan Ross said a Penn State supporter found the school’s design online and reported it.

“Previously, a lot of it was by happenstance,” said Michael Van Wieren, vice president and general counsel of the Licensing Resource Group. “So-and-so from a college was traveling and said, ‘Hey, that looks like our mark.’ But as colleges and high schools became more high profile, colleges started to recognize the need for protection on all levels.”

This year, the Collegiate Licensing Company identified four high schools with Gator logos similar to Florida’s. In addition to Glades Day, cease-and-desist letters were sent to Palm Beach Gardens Community High School, Vicksburg High School in Mississippi and Ola High School in Arkansas. All four schools are making changes.

“We understand there’s a lot of passion surrounding the Gator, and we certainly embrace all the high schools that want to be Gators,” said Janine Sikes, the University of Florida’s director of public affairs. “We only ask that they create their own logos.”

Some high schools fight back. In August, Florida State sent a cease-and-desist letter to Southeast High School in Bradenton, Fla., regarding its Seminoles logo. Southeast argued that it had used the mark for 30 years without incident, and its colors are orange and blue — Florida’s colors — unlike Florida State’s garnet and gold.

“No self-respecting Florida State fan would buy an orange-and-blue Seminoles head,” said John Bowen, a lawyer for the Manatee County School District.

The former Florida State coach Bobby Bowden made several recruiting visits to Southeast High, ostensibly becoming aware of the logos, but the university never pursued the issue.

“If you sit on your right as a plaintiff and don’t go after someone as soon as you find out they’re infringing on your rights, you may lose the ability to go after them,” Wasylik said.

This month, Florida State and Southeast High reached an agreement that allowed the high school to use the logos as long as they were not used differently than they had been in the past. After Pittsburgh ordered Whitmer High School to stop using its Panthers design last spring, a senior at the high school created a new logo and the school district applied to register the design with the United States Patent and Trademark Office.

“I never thought we’d be trademarking a high school logo,” said Patrick Hickey, the Washington Local School District superintendent. “But I just didn’t want to go through this again.”

A version of this article appeared in print on November 27, 2010, on page A1 of the New York edition.