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Printing University's (that I attend) Logo on a Shirt

1373 Views 8 Replies 5 Participants Last post by  promohouse, 
C
I want to print a line of shirts catering solely to the students of the university which I currently attend. This would be a local thing--no website or anything. Think those crappy shirts people always sell for spring fling, except done well (not crappy) and on a slightly larger scale.

My question is, what copyright issues am I going to run into with putting the university logo on the back of the shirt? I'm fairly certain it isn't kosher, but I wasn't sure due to the fact that it's a partially funded state university.

I guess my bigger question is--who do you think I should contact at my university about putting the logo on shirts? The place I attend is fairly laid back and I think I could secure permission to sell logo'd shirts, as I'm a current student selling to other current students.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,
Colin
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kimura-mma
Hey Colin. It typically requires a license to reproduce intellectual property such as a university logo. If the university you attend is one of the schools whose licensing is managed by the CLC or LRG, it's unlikely you will get approved. The university's IP is usually owned by their Board of Trustees. So maybe you can ask around and try to contact someone who may have specific info on how to get approval.

Hope this helps and good luck!
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H
Ditto above...plus if approval is granted, be prepared to pay extensive royalty fees....more than you will make, sorry to say.
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C
I was fearing that. Thanks for the help!

I've got one more question along this line. I've been doing some reading, and I think I'm correct in saying that I would be allowed to put, say, "Kenyon University" on the back of the shirt as long as it's not styled anything like the actual university's text. Is that correct, or did I misinterpret some stuff?

Thanks again.
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kimura-mma
Yeah I think you misinterpreted some things. The name of the university is trademarked. Any usage in any font without authorization would be infringement.


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C
Thanks Kimura. I appreciate it greatly.

Just one more question if you don't mind me asking.

Could I put "Temple 2010" on the back of the shirt in unstyled text rather than the full "Temple University" (or even just "Temple").

I couldn't find a specific answer to my question (maybe I just suck at google), but common sense would lead me to believe that an entity could not trademark the connotation of a popular word from the dictionary (hopefully).
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BroJames
Here, it is my understanding that general words such as "temple" cannot be copyrighted or trademarked but a certain style of the word "temple" can. But I believe your laws can vary from state to state.
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kimura-mma
Crynos said:
Could I put "Temple 2010" on the back of the shirt in unstyled text rather than the full "Temple University" (or even just "Temple").

I couldn't find a specific answer to my question (maybe I just suck at google), but common sense would lead me to believe that an entity could not trademark the connotation of a popular word from the dictionary (hopefully).
Click to expand...
Actually, the university has submitted a trademark application for the standard character mark "TEMPLE" for use on clothing. So unauthorized usage would be infringement.

Instead of Google, try using the USPTO website to search for existing trademarks.

The challenge you are going to face is that you are trying to market and distribute your shirts to college students. The collegiate licensing industry is huge. Anything you do that closely resembles an official school mark will possibly be considered infringement.

Your best bet is to stay as generic as possible, like "Spring Break 2010," "Philadelphia 2010" or just come up with some funny designs.
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promohouse
Hey Guys,If you could persuade your college allow you use the logo free,it would be great.If not,you could try to get authorization.

----------------
Best,

Lee
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