Will The Real "SC" Please Stand Up?
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The University of Southern California can officially say what it has always known: We are SC!
The University of South Carolina sought to register “SC” as their logo for athletic apparel in 1997 and have since been fighting with the courts and USC for ownership. The case is University of South Carolina v. University of Southern California [09-1270].
After a 13-year battle, a federal appeals court maintained a prior ruling by the Patent and Trademark Office that declares trademark rights of the logos “USC” and “SC” to Southern California.
"We are pleased the Supreme Court did the right thing and ended this after 13 years," said Michael Adler, a Los Angeles lawyer for USC. "We'd rather beat them on the football field than fight them in litigation, but if they won this, they could have used this [logo] on any merchandise."
USC’s attorneys argued that Southern California has been known as “USC” or “SC” for decades, while South Carolina used to be known as “Carolina.” It was also stated that fans would become confused by the similar logos with similar colors. The Trojan’s are cardinal and gold, while the Gamecocks are garnet and black.
The federal trademark law prohibits the use of similar identifying markers that are “likely to cause confusion" to consumers.
South Carolina’s lawyers fought back that their “SC” logo is styled different, featuring curved interlocking letters rather than the Trojans' interlocking block letters.
The Gamecocks will still use the logo but will not be able to collect royalties from merchandise sales.
Things may have gotten a little out of hand when Scott Edelman, another attorney for USC, called the Gamecock “a goofy little chicken” but in the end the Trojans lay rightful claim to the school’s nationally recognized logo.
This issue is just as ludicrous as when Vanilla Ice swore he didn’t sample the bassline of “Under Pressure” by Queen and David Bowie.
We all knew the truth then and we all know it now.
To reach writers Sara Ramsey, click here.
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