|
|
|
A federal jury ruled Monday a Lawrence clothing store must pay The University of Kansas $127,000 for trademark infringement for selling unlicensed Jayhawk-related merchandise.
After two days of deliberations, the eight-person jury ruled Larry Sinks, owner of Joe-College.com, had infringed on the university’s trademark by selling unlicensed T-shirts online and through his store.
“We agree with the jury that all three defendants willfully infringed on and diluted our marks,” Kansas athletic director Lew Perkins said in a statement. “This is an important victory for The University of Kansas, its reputation and its students, who receive approximately $1 million annually in scholarships from trademark revenue.”
The award, though, was well below the $500,000 the school had sought. The jury also ruled about 75 percent of the 206 shirts Joe-College.com sold did not violate any trademark.
An attorney for Joe-College.com said the store will remain in business, though the judge said she would enter an injunction prohibiting the further sale of the infringing shirts.
Sinks said he tried to secure licenses for selling official Kansas merchandise but was rejected, so he decided to make his own shirts that didn’t require licenses. None of his shirts include a picture of the Jayhawk mascot or say “The University of Kansas,” both of which are protected trademarks.
He also includes signs in his store and on his Web site making it clear he is not affiliated with the university.
The school contended that Sinks’ shirts were close enough to the university’s own offerings to confuse customers into thinking he’s selling officially licensed apparel.
One shirt printed in connection with Kansas’ trip to the Orange Bowl was blue, similar to the school’s official color, and had “Hawk Football” on the front and “Orange You Glad We’re Going Bowling in Miami,” with the words “Orange” and “Bowl” printed in orange.
Another blue shirt says “Missouri, it’s Your Turn to Pick Cotton (nice bowl game),” a reference to the University of Missouri playing in the Cotton Bowl this year.
A federal jury ruled Monday a Lawrence clothing store must pay The University of Kansas $127,000 for trademark infringement for selling unlicensed Jayhawk-related merchandise.
After two days of deliberations, the eight-person jury ruled Larry Sinks, owner of Joe-College.com, had infringed on the university’s trademark by selling unlicensed T-shirts online and through his store.“We agree with the jury that all three defendants willfully infringed on and diluted our marks,” Kansas athletic director Lew Perkins said in a statement. “This is an important victory for The University of Kansas, its reputation and its students, who receive approximately $1 million annually in scholarships from trademark revenue.”The award, though, was well below the $500,000 the school had sought. The jury also ruled about 75 percent of the 206 shirts Joe-College.com sold did not violate any trademark.An attorney for Joe-College.com said the store will remain in business, though the judge said she would enter an injunction prohibiting the further sale of the infringing shirts.Sinks said he tried to secure licenses for selling official Kansas merchandise but was rejected, so he decided to make his own shirts that didn’t require licenses. None of his shirts include a picture of the Jayhawk mascot or say “The University of Kansas,” both of which are protected trademarks.He also includes signs in his store and on his Web site making it clear he is not affiliated with the university.The school contended that Sinks’ shirts were close enough to the university’s own offerings to confuse customers into thinking he’s selling officially licensed apparel.One shirt printed in connection with Kansas’ trip to the Orange Bowl was blue, similar to the school’s official color, and had “Hawk Football” on the front and “Orange You Glad We’re Going Bowling in Miami,” with the words “Orange” and “Bowl” printed in orange.Another blue shirt says “Missouri, it’s Your Turn to Pick Cotton (nice bowl game),” a reference to the University of Missouri playing in the Cotton Bowl this year.
