U. of Wisc. stomps on Iowa HS W

[cranium]

See the linked article:

Des Moines

Interesting that it seems that the H.S. admitted using Wisc. and Wash.'s 'W' and that they had to abandon their Indian nickname, the double whammy.

[uthorns83]

Pretty :censored:ty by UW, it's just a small high school, who cares? That they're making school resources go to fixing a logo rather than something worthwhile is retarded as hell. Plus The Woodlands High School in Houston copies the Wisconsin W exactly, rather than the ripoff this Iowa HS was using.

[FiddySicks]

One thing I would like to see is big universities say something along the lines of "fu*k no you cant use our logo!!! But since were stripping the rights to the logo, we'll help you out by monitarily by paying a certain percentage of the costs on getting a new design." But only if its a logo that has been used for a long time by the high school. Yeah, maybe not, but its not like these universities cant afford it.

[KDubK414]

I'm sorry, but the Waukee logo is quite far from a knockoff of the Wisconsin W. Sure they said they used it, but it's not the exact same thing.

NOW then these are the logos for my alma mater's athletic program...

What's your thoughts on these?

[Seadragon76]

I know about this story very well since I am near Waukee.

And to tell you guys, I don't see what kind of arguement Wisconsin has here. I mean, where I live, the high school team uses the Chicago Bears Wishbone 'C' for years and there hasn't been a problem yet.

[EatSleepJeep]

I know about this story very well since I am near Waukee.

And to tell you guys, I don't see what kind of arguement Wisconsin has here. I mean, where I live, the high school team uses the Chicago Bears Wishbone 'C' for years and there hasn't been a problem yet.

But the Bear's wishbone C is the Reds, Indians, and Twins C as well. It's not exclusive to any 1 team. Same with the Green Bay/Georgia G. Waukee should have asked first, they admit it's a ripoff of two logos but never say they got prior permission to do so.

Waukee is dicussed here, too

http://boards.sportslogos.net/index.php?s=...st&p=632986

[BlueSky]

Wow, these kids are hosed.

Half the schools at all levels and most of the youth football teams here in Georgia use some pro or college logo on their helmets. I think Wisconsin's off their rocker because there's an element here called context, or the perception of a connection between the two organizations.

For example, in the pic above, nobody thinks these are the Tennessee Titans. They might think the youth team is connected to the Titans in some way but that really doesn't provide any kind of benefit to the youth team.

And BTW, that shot was taken at LP Field during halftime of the Saints-Titans preseason game. I'm guessing that means the Titans don't have a problem with the kids using their logo. The Cowboys and Packers were also represented, can't recall who the 4th team was.

[hormone]

Geez, I hope people don't come around my area (Western PA). At one time or currently...

Mohawk Warriors have the FSU spear on the helmet

Laurel Spartans use the Mich. State Spartan

Hopewell Vikings have the Vikings horns

Sharon Tigers have Clemson's footprint

Union Scotties have Miami's U

Wilmington Greyhounds have Wisconsin's W

Canfield Cardinals have the old Cardinal's Cardinal

Ellwood City Wolverines have the Michigan style helmet

New Castle Red Hurricane used to have North Carolina's NC

Girard Indians use the GB Packer/Georgia Bulldog G

Rochester Rams have the new St. Louis Rams logo on some stuff

Kennedy Catholic uses the KC Royal's KC on their baseball stuff

Neshannok Lancers used to have Nebraska's N

These are just off the top of my head. Part of me says who cares and it makes the team look a little "pro" and part of me says that is wrong because the schools sell stuff with those logos on them and are making a profit off of someone elses design.

My question is, how do they get caught? It's not like any of these schools have their own show on MTV

[TBGKon]

Heck, after thinking about it, there are a few schools in my area that use pro/college logos:

- Mitchell Mustangs use the Western Michigan Broncos logo, colors and all.

- River Ridge Royal Knights use the former Scottish Claymores sabre logo

- Hudson Cobras use the former Carolina Cobras logo

- Central Bears use the Chicago Bears logo with the bear wrapped around the C

[Gothamite]

As a Wisconsin alum, I say we give the motion W to a high school outright and come up with a decent logo for the university....

[BuddyLane]

I don't mean to jump on the bandwagon here, on second thought, yeah.....I do. If U of W is after that school then I guess Wier High in Wierton, WV will be next. How many other schools will be forced to change their logos because of U of W?

[EatSleepJeep]

Wow, these kids are hosed.

Half the schools at all levels and most of the youth football teams here in Georgia use some pro or college logo on their helmets. I think Wisconsin's off their rocker because there's an element here called context, or the perception of a connection between the two organizations.

For example, in the pic above, nobody thinks these are the Tennessee Titans. They might think the youth team is connected to the Titans in some way but that really doesn't provide any kind of benefit to the youth team.

And BTW, that shot was taken at LP Field during halftime of the Saints-Titans preseason game. I'm guessing that means the Titans don't have a problem with the kids using their logo. The Cowboys and Packers were also represented, can't recall who the 4th team was.

Except that team is most likely part of NFL Youth

http://www.nflyouthfootball.com/

[Discrim]

Wow, these kids are hosed.

wow, whoever said the Titans were young this year wasn't kiddin

[Sec19Row53]

Pretty :censored:ty by UW, it's just a small high school, who cares? That they're making school resources go to fixing a logo rather than something worthwhile is retarded as hell. Plus The Woodlands High School in Houston copies the Wisconsin W exactly, rather than the ripoff this Iowa HS was using.

1 - If they don't always protect their logo when it's brought to their attention, they lose the ability to go after anyone who does use it. That's one of the requirements of protecting copyright.

2 - The logo you show isn't an exact copy of the Motion W. The logo you show has a pointed middle of the W. I agree, however, that it IS a ripoff. If UW sees this, I assume they will approach that school.

[Gothamite]

1 - If they don't always protect their logo when it's brought to their attention, they lose the ability to go after anyone who does use it. That's one of the requirements of protecting copyright.

Good point.

The high school should have contacted them to work out a deal. I bet, if it had been pre-approved, they might have been able to work something out.

Looks to me like they got their hands on a vector copy of the logo and altered it. That just can't be allowed, if you want to maintain copyright.

[hecticbro]

Probably half the high schools in the country rip off a major college or pro team's logo in some way or another. I really don't see why Wisconsin has an issue with this, since it actually makes their mark more prevalent.

[meetthemets]

Probably half the high schools in the country rip off a major college or pro team's logo in some way or another. I really don't see why Wisconsin has an issue with this, since it actually makes their mark more prevalent.

That's a terrible argument. I won't get into the whole "if someone else jumped off a bridge" point that your parents hopefully taught you at age 4. Secondly, you say that it makes their marks more prevalent. In most of the cases where high schools use another teams logo, the quality is poor. That certainly doen't make their mark more prevalent but has almost the opposite effect. And just because you feel that it makes the logo more prevalent or gets more exposure for the mark, doesn't mean the people who own it feel the same way. Most of the time it is completely the other way. If the team or school who owns the mark doesn't want a HS using it, then it's their right to say they can't. It may be percieved by some as a dickhead move, but it is still their right.

And someone above said that Wisc. should have to aid in payment for another design? Why? This school used their mark without their permission, so it is now the responsiblility of Wisc. to fund the design of a new mark? That's insane.

Yes, they are only "little helpless high schools," but the point is that the schools and teams still have the right to protect their property in anyway they see fit. I can guarantee you if anyone on this board found one of their marks being used by a school or team without their permission they'd be taking similar steps to be compensated accordingly. I know because I've seen it happen.

Wow, these kids are hosed.

Half the schools at all levels and most of the youth football teams here in Georgia use some pro or college logo on their helmets. I think Wisconsin's off their rocker because there's an element here called context, or the perception of a connection between the two organizations.

For example, in the pic above, nobody thinks these are the Tennessee Titans. They might think the youth team is connected to the Titans in some way but that really doesn't provide any kind of benefit to the youth team.

And BTW, that shot was taken at LP Field during halftime of the Saints-Titans preseason game. I'm guessing that means the Titans don't have a problem with the kids using their logo. The Cowboys and Packers were also represented, can't recall who the 4th team was.

That's because the NFL supports and sponsors most of these youth leagues and grants permission for them to use these marks.

[Mingjai]

This was said before, but it shouldn't be overlooked: Wisconsin is required to protect its copyrights/trademarks otherwise it loses its ability to enforce those rights. An intellectual property owner is not a villian for asserting his ownership rights in the property. As graphic artists, I figured most of the people on this board would appreciate that.

As was mentioned before, the HS should have told Wisconsin/Washington they would pay X dollars to use the "Motion UDub." They can still try to negotiate.

That being said, it's not a slam dunk that Wisconsin would win this case if litigated because I'm not sure if their use is either copyright infringement (possible fair use) or trademark infringement (no consumer confusion). The HS could always refuse to change an force Wisconsin to take some action. But in the end, the cheapest way to solve the problem would be for the HS to change.

[EatSleepJeep]

Plus, if you read the whole article you will find that the company that's lodging the complaint is Collegiate Licensing Company, who is responsible for protecting Wisconsin's and other schools' marks. They were notified by a company that was contracted to make class rings for Waukee HS. Wisconsin licenses the use of their mark to Collegiate Licensing Co., and they don't want other unlicensed parties to reproduce it as that's how they make their money.

[STL FANATIC]

My high school used to use a beautiful combination of the Wisconsin W and the Florida St. Seminoles (arguably Washington Redskins old) spear.

They changed it my sophomore year, but I'm pretty sure it had nothing to do with legalities.

Generally I hate ripped off logos, but it was so tastefully combined I didn't mind.