Colleges to high schools: Stop using our logos
Imitation may be the sincerest form of flattery, except when it comes to high schools copying college sports team logos or mascots.
Universities across the country are cracking down on high schools that are using their trademarked logos, and some say the fight will deepen as colleges look to protect their licensed marks and related revenues.
Crystal Lake South High School received a cease and desist letter from the University of Florida last month asking it to stop using the Gator head logo.
A few years ago, Barrington High School found itself in a similar situation after it adopted the Western Michigan University bronco to use on its helmets. The school did pay a fee to use the decal, but school officials said it became too costly.
“The university told us it was an infringement on the rights for using it,” said Mike Obsuszt, athletic director at Barrington High School. “We didn't realize it. But we understand that the university dumped a lot of money into it to get it the way the school wanted it.”
Jim Aronowitz, associate legal counsel for Collegiate Licensing Co., an Atlanta-based agency that represents almost 200 colleges and related athletic bodies, said like any trademark holder colleges need to protect their mark to retain value.
“If continued third party use goes unchecked, the risk is that the rights can be diluted and diminished or altogether abandoned,” Aronowitz said. “They have worked hard to develop their rights over time and we certainly want to protect those rights.”
Aronowitz said the colleges and high schools usually work out a reasonable phaseout plan to limit the financial impact on a high school.
In the case of Crystal Lake South, the school and university are working on a timeline to replace the Gator head one of many logos seen around the school as uniforms wear out and it's time to repaint.
“We're not asking them to stop using it the next day, next week or next month,” Aronowitz said. “If it's on the website, that's something that can be addressed quickly. But uniforms and the basketball court will take longer.”
About 20 high schools or youth organizations from across the country are licensed to use the Western Michigan University bronco logo, paying a $100 fee good for two years, said Robert D'Amelio, assistant athletic director for sports marketing, media relations and trademark licensing at Western Michigan.
He said he has found the mark from northwestern Canada to Florida.
“I will periodically do Internet searches for high schools or teams that have a bronco, or stallion or colt as their mascot,” D'Amelio said. “Or we will have people anonymously send newspaper clippings or e-mail that they have seen the mark. I will usually contact the principal and explain that the logo is confusingly similar to the Western Michigan mark.”
D'Amelio said the university, which released the bronco design in 1999, must control the use of the mark to retain ownership.
“If we do not, it weakens the trademark protection or if we let it go it becomes diluted and we'll have a tough time defending that we own the mark,” D'Amelio said. “We are invested in it, and it is our identity.”
In the case of Barrington High School, Obsuszt said the school paid a $500 fee to use the Bronco logo for two years before it redesigned new logos that now appear on apparel: a bucking bronco or a horseshoe (yes, it's identical to the Indianapolis Colts horseshoe except for the color.)
Schools like Waubonsie Valley in Aurora have altered their logos in anticipation of problems. It now uses a straight “WV” instead of the initials with flags that bore a resemblance to the West Virginia University logo, athletic director Mike Rogowski said.
Others have moved away from college decals for cost savings. Round Lake dumped the University of Michigan wings because the decal cost about $14 per helmet compared to the $4 for a standard decal, Assistant Principal for Athletics and Activities Mike Mizwicki said.
While it may cause an inconvenience, Chris Gagnon, president and chief executive officer of Sportdecals, a Spring Grove company specializing in helmet and apparel decals, said high schools should take the opportunity to come up with a logo that is uniquely theirs.
“It is a confusing situation, but we still want schools to show their school pride and not get in harm's way of Collegiate Licensing or universities,” Gagnon said. “They can still be the Gators, but they can't use the Florida Gator. We, or some other company, can design a new logo and create their individual mark.”
But other schools like the four Glenbard high schools use the lettering synonymous with the Green Bay Packers or the University of Georgia, so far without reprisals.
“We have not been contacted by the University of Georgia because we use a standard “Block G”, which can be found in any letter of the alphabet if wanted,” John Treiber, assistant principal for athletics at Glenbard South said in an e-mail. “It's not a particular design made or copied from anyone else, like possibly the University of Florida logo might have been.”
Kurt Rous, head football coach at Grant High School in Fox Lake, said the school has not heard from the University of Georgia about the use of the “G” emblem in red and black a spot-on reproduction of the Georgia Bulldogs helmet.
Grant high school's athletic director, Mark Barczak, said the logo is modeled after the Green Bay Packers and is reminiscent of the helmet decals worn during the high school's heyday.
“We were just looking at it like the G that the Packers use,” Barczak said. “We never intended to copy the Georgia Bulldogs. It goes back to honor the ‘65 era when they were champs.”
Grant High School isn't the only team using an emblem close to a National Football League mark. The logo for the Stevenson High School Patriots in Lincolnshire looks an awful lot like the decal used on the helmets of the Super Bowl championship team in New England except for a tiny S on the brow. And there's not much difference between the fleur de lis that adorns the St. Charles East Saints helmets and the those of the New Orleans Saints.
But while the NFL fiercely protects its copyrighted symbols and logos from those trying to make a quick buck off the sales of unauthorized merchandise, the organization has yet to take a tough stance against high school or youth teams that emulate professional teams.
“We support football on all levels and do not have an issue with high school and youth teams using NFL team logos,” said Brian McCarthy, director of corporate communications for the NFL.
But colleges, which are dealing with states slashing funding, are taking notice. The paw emblem of the Clemson University Tigers is a registered mark and variations of the design are found at a number of local schools like Conant High School in Hoffman Estates and Wheaton Warren South.
The university is taking steps to track the use of the logo.
“We are in the process of creating a database of educational and recreational groups that either use the tiger paw or a modified tiger paw,” said Tim Match, the university's licensing director. “Obviously, we take seriously the use of our federally protected marks.”
Match said the school will probably contact each group and have them fill out a one-time use form. The university, he said, would not charge the institutions royalties for using the mark.