U of Iowa: Wisconsin high school logo infringed

[jonkj]

New logo hatched

Bloomer Blackhawk altered after University of Iowa officials cry 'fowl'

By Candy Czernicki

Chippewa Falls News Bureau

4/7/2008

At the Wisconsin high school wrestling tournament in 2007, officials with the University of Iowa spotted something familiar: their logo.

It was being used by Bloomer High School.

The Iowa Hawkeyes took issue with the Bloomer Blackhawks over the small school's use of a tigerhawk logo. The two logos were nearly identical.

Bloomer school district Superintendent Doug Martin suggested to the university that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. Officials with the university in Iowa City didn't agree.

So don't be surprised at Bloomer's first home football game this fall to see a more streamlined look to the Bloomer Blackhawk.

"Over the years we kind of evolved into using the Iowa tigerhawk," Martin said. "It goes way back. We've heard reports that we were OK to do that."

University of Iowa officials were friendly but firm.

"They weren't mean about it. They just said we've got to figure out what we're going to do. The university said that as we replace uniforms or redo walls that might have that logo, we need to replace them," Martin said.

The high school wasn't given a timetable to make changes, Martin said.

"They understand about uniform cycles, things like that, or refurbishing and repainting," he said. "Most of the connection is to (athletic) uniforms. The helmet decal will be replaced this fall."

Bloomer High School graduate Lindsay Nayes, now a graphic design student at UW-Stout, came up with several versions for the new logo. Football coach John Post forwarded a few of the designs to Chippewa Valley Sporting Goods in Eau Claire for a bit of tweaking.

Greg Hanson, an artist at Chippewa Valley Sporting Goods, said employees there tried to come up with a "more streamlined" look for the new logo.

"We just kind of cleaned it up," Hanson said. "There was nothing super-custom on our part. But the hawk is what they're going to stick with for all sports."

Because of the dispute, Bloomer didn't have its traditional tigerhawk decal on team football helmets last fall.

"It's been going on for a little while. Last year they weren't allowed to use helmet decals and just put numbers on the side," Hanson said.

In 2007, Bruce High School in Rusk County went through a logo change in the opposite way. The school dropped Indian garb from its Red Raiders logo and received permission from Texas Tech to use one patterned after the university's Masked Rider logo.

Source: Eau Claire Leader-Telegram

New logo:

A new Bloomer High School Blackhawks logo features a streamlined head of a hawk.

[CubsFanBudMan]

Wasn't Wisconsin going after an Iowa high school football team for using the "motion W"? Seems turnabout is fair play. There are so many examples of this, it's hard to know which -- if any -- are approved.

[TrueYankee26]

They look entirely different.

[Eagle Eye Customs]

maybe its just me, but I thought of the ravens

[CubsFanBudMan]

They look entirely different.

The logo posted above is labeled as the "new" logo. I assume the old one is closer to the tigerhawk.

(Edit: Fixed "more closer." Wow. Apologies in advance to the grammar police.)

[Discrim]

Wasn't Wisconsin going after an Iowa high school football team for using the "motion W"? Seems turnabout is fair play. There are so many examples of this, it's hard to know which -- if any -- are approved.

that was the first thing that came to my mind...though I was thinking this would say the Hawkeyes were going after Greenfield, who I know used to use Iowa's logo.

[jonkj]

maybe its just me, but I thought of the ravens

Me too.

The logo posted above is labeled as the "new" logo. I assume the old one is closer to the tigerhawk.

Exactly -- it's not clarified very well in the newspaper, nor by me, but I'm fairly certain the image is the new replacement.

[TTaylor44]

Here is a link to the school's football page. It is the same logo as U of Iowa.

Bloomer Football

[jonkj]

Found this on the Bloomer school district page. You can see the Iowa logo on here.

http://www.bloomer.k12.wi.us/~football/football.htm

Edit: Seems TTaylor44 beat me to it.

[quantum]

The story says a graphic art student came up with it and was tweaked by a local sporting goods shop. I wonder if they are the ones responsible for that weird flat spot on the top of the head. Overall, the new logo seems a bit unpolished considering it originated from a college art student. But at least it is original.

[Cola]

Found this on the Bloomer school district page. You can see the Iowa logo on here.

http://www.bloomer.k12.wi.us/~football/football.htm

Edit: Seems TTaylor44 beat me to it.

looks like they will be re-painting their basketball court as well.

personally, and i know some will disagree, but i think this is a little too much on the part of Iowa...its not that serious. and i know some will say "but a designer but effort into that original logo" or "they are gaining profit and recognition for a logo they stole" and yadda yada...but let's get real: sooooooooooooooo many high schools use college or professional logos all over the US. it would take years for all of them to be spotted and for changes to be made.

[chuckymack]

Yeah, but Bloomer's use of Iowa's logo doesn't make sense in this case. Iowa's 'Hawkeye' logo has a lowercase 'i' in it. There may not be an 'i' in 'team', but there sure is one on the basketball court!

[BBTV]

Found this on the Bloomer school district page. You can see the Iowa logo on here.

http://www.bloomer.k12.wi.us/~football/football.htm

Edit: Seems TTaylor44 beat me to it.

looks like they will be re-painting their basketball court as well.

personally, and i know some will disagree, but i think this is a little too much on the part of Iowa...its not that serious. and i know some will say "but a designer but effort into that original logo" or "they are gaining profit and recognition for a logo they stole" and yadda yada...but let's get real: sooooooooooooooo many high schools use college or professional logos all over the US. it would take years for all of them to be spotted and for changes to be made.

If you don't defend your trademark in all cases, you lose the right to do so in any case. It's black and white, and I honestly can't understand why people still think this is bullying. There are a ton of schools who are stealing logos, and it will be impossible to stop them all, but theh point is that once you are explicitly made aware of it you are obligated to do something about it, or risk your brand.

[Gothamite]

Couldn't agree more strongly.

The University of Iowa has a legal obligation to stop this theft.

[STL FANATIC]

Just to play devil's advocate...

Iowa could protect their trademark and allow this school to use their logo by simply working out an official agreement.

I don't really care how they handle it, and they do have to do something.

But they could be nice guys about it and are choosing the other route (which I don't mean to suggest is mean).

Their obligation is to not allow schools to steal their logo, they don't have to make sure they're the only ones using it though.

[Gothamite]

True, but C&D is so much simpler.

Given the number of cases of theft they have to deal with it, I don't fault them for wanting to take the least complicated path.

[Cola]

Found this on the Bloomer school district page. You can see the Iowa logo on here.

http://www.bloomer.k12.wi.us/~football/football.htm

Edit: Seems TTaylor44 beat me to it.

looks like they will be re-painting their basketball court as well.

personally, and i know some will disagree, but i think this is a little too much on the part of Iowa...its not that serious. and i know some will say "but a designer but effort into that original logo" or "they are gaining profit and recognition for a logo they stole" and yadda yada...but let's get real: sooooooooooooooo many high schools use college or professional logos all over the US. it would take years for all of them to be spotted and for changes to be made.

If you don't defend your trademark in all cases, you lose the right to do so in any case. It's black and white, and I honestly can't understand why people still think this is bullying. There are a ton of schools who are stealing logos, and it will be impossible to stop them all, but theh point is that once you are explicitly made aware of it you are obligated to do something about it, or risk your brand.

I just don't know about that. You are telling me that if I decided to use my personal time to gather thousands of violators of this and sent them in with great evidence to the professional organizations...and something wasn't done, then I could call them out any other time in the future if they didn't decided to settle the score with every school I presented to them?

I don't buy that. For one, look at all the college scouts that visit high schools. You are trying to tell me that they don't see this going on? Outside of Columbia, SC there is a high school in Sumter...the Sumter Gamecocks. They use the exact logo as USC re-colored with blue and yellow. I know scouts and recruiters have visited that high school before. Nothing has been done that I have ever heard of. Has my alma mater lost her rights for all future cases?

I never said it was bullying...I just think it is silly.

[Gothamite]

Silly? Protecting against theft is silly? They paid for the logo, why shouldn't they want to protect that investment against those who want to get something for nothing?

As to your specific case, we need a lawyer to weigh in. I don't know if "scouts and recruiters" are themselves sufficient actors for their presence to trigger school notification.

If they are, then yes. Presuming that there is no deal in place (such as a blanket designation granting all public schools in the state to use it), your alma mater may well be in danger of losing its ability to protect its trademarks.

[Cola]

Silly? Protecting against theft is silly? They paid for the logo, why shouldn't they want to protect that investment against those who want to get something for nothing?

As to your specific case, we need a lawyer to weigh in. I don't know if "scouts and recruiters" are themselves sufficient actors for their presence to trigger school notification.

If they are, then yes. Presuming that there is no deal in place (such as a blanket designation granting all public schools in the state to use it), your alma mater may well be in danger of losing its ability to protect its trademarks.

All it says is University officials. That could be anyone attached with the university honestly. A recruiter is paid by the university, usually a coach. My point was that these "officials" witness, whether knowingly or not, situations like this ALL the time and nothing is made of it. The high school isn't a multi-million dollar business like the Iowa athletic department. I'd say most major universities that adamantly recruit and visit high schools in their area are guilty of this...yet how often is a high school called out?

I am not condoning theft or any kind of infringement on the property of others, but the HS may not have known it was illegal and meant nothing by it. They probably make no money directly related to the logo besides selling a few t-shirts or game programs with the logo on it. Now, they will be forced to spend money redoing anything with the hawkeye on it from painting basketball floors, new decals, uniforms, wall art, envelopes and official letterheads, to all athletic booster merchandise. It hurts the school when they could have just worked out an agreement for the HS to continue using it but raise awareness that this isn't the normal way to proceed and high schools should look into this when creating their athletic identity.

We don't (or at least I don't) even know if Iowa really paid for the logo in the first place. That is besides the point, but I'm just saying.

[Gothamite]

If you have some reason to contest Iowa's ownership, that's different.

Every adult knows that you don't get something for nothing. Every adult has heard about copyright laws. If somebody thought that they could use something that belongs to somebody else, then I won't feel sorry if they have to print up new t-shirts.

As to how often this is enforced... well, the University of Wisconsin has taken some hits on these boards for protecting their property vigorously. Sounds like you're defending them, since they do it a lot.