Trademark Infringement Threat Forces Logo Change | Trademark Law Firm Blog

A recent story out of Atlanta Georgia reconfirms the importance of trademark registration, trademark monitoring, and trademark litigation in the event of infringement.  The Florida State University was forced to threaten a trademark infringement lawsuit against two Atlanta area schools for use of the Seminoles’ logo on both helmet and jersey.  As the article quotes, the trademark infringement threat letter sent by Collegiate Licensing Company on behalf of Florida State University noted that the high school’s logo and mascot “may cause consumers to erroneously believe that the university has authorized Salem High School to use its marks.  Additionally, it would dilute the distinctiveness of the marks that the public associates with the university.”

Simply put, this is the Collegiate Licensing Company’s way of saying that if the high school does not stop using the trademarks owned by Florida State University; they will file a lawsuit for trademark infringement and/or trademark dilution.  Instead of fighting over rights to the registration, and the high school’s use of the trademark logo, the entities reached an agreement.  Ultimately, such an agreement is beneficial to a trademark owner looking to protect its logo and rights.  A trademark law firm or attorney is in the best position to advise both a trademark owner looking to enforce his/her rights as well as a user of a mark who has been alleged to infringe an owner’s rights in situations such as this.

While observers may find Florida State to be overreaching, or even heartless in its pursuit of a high school’s use, trademark law does require active policing of one’s trademark in order to retain intellectual property rights.  Therefore, the risk of losing rights in a trademark logo typically outweigh what some may spin as bad public relations.