FSU lawsuit over Seminoles logo affects Atlanta area high schools (UPDATED)
Imitation may be the sincerest form of flattery but when it comes to using logos that resemble those of the Florida State Seminoles, FSU is apparently anything but touched by seeing its spear design and Seminole head images gracing a high school helmet near you. PHOTOS: Take a look at some metro Atlanta schools using collegiate-style logos.
The AJC’s Christian Boone reports that Rockdale County’s Salem High and Memorial Middle schools have reached a settlement with FSU that allows them to keep the Seminoles nickname for their sports teams, “though it may only be used when preceded by either Salem High or Memorial Middle.” The schools can no longer use the familiar spear design or Seminole head images.
The eventual cost to remove the emblems from helmets, uniforms, gym floors and other team-associated items at the schools could top $200,000, a Rockdale school board member told the AJC. Other high schools that could be affected include Creekside in Fairburn and Westside in Bibb County.
“We’re not trying to put them in a financial bind,” FSU’s trademark licensing director told the Macon Telegraph. “To get this all acknowledged is the main thing. If it takes five years, it takes five years.”
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98 comments Add your comment
What the ?
March 22nd, 2011
8:58 am
Georgia Tech also went after a High School in the Augusta area for using GT on their uniforms and gym floor. Of course, why would anyone want to use GT on anything? In this case, the high school was the one being damaged by any perceived association with the North Avenue Trade School.
zack
March 22nd, 2011
9:09 am
Got news for ya folks. FSU is not the only school to do something like this. Also, NFL teams do these crap all the time too. The only reason it is being reported is because it is FSU. There are other colleges that have done this. So, Mr. Reporter how about doing more research.
Reasonable Prudent Person
March 22nd, 2011
9:11 am
I can’t imagine that profits are being won or lost here because of the high schools’ use of the logo. Copyright infringement has an exception for schools (this is being broadly stated), and trademark infringement should be drawn more narrowly than copyright. Thus, without any market effects, the suit seems pointless. What am I missing? Nobody is confusing Westside High for FSU. The only winners in this lawsuit are the attorneys, because they get paid. Trademarks are “ownable” for a reason, and none of those reasons are being lost when public high schools mimic those trademarks.
The Stogs
March 22nd, 2011
9:15 am
So we’re forgiving “little high school kids
because their school broke the law? There’s a good lesson here for these kids. Don’t steal other people’s property. FSU doesn’t want money, it wants the logos removed. Simple as that. I’m sure things would have been different if people in the Rockdale school system had approach Florida State from the out-set.
na na nanana....na na na....na nanana....
March 22nd, 2011
9:16 am
the boy scouts should send FSU a cease and desist for using an arrow logo. the boy scouts have been using an arrow for the “order of the arrow” logo for more than 90 years. don’t think the women at Florida Womens College were playing ball 90 years ago.
greg
March 22nd, 2011
9:23 am
Appears to be a case of the lost adults of Rockdale County. Notice that letters have been sent to other schools on behalf of other universities as well, only these oafs have responded in a manner such as this. Board members don’t even have the facts straight and are making childish comments, perhaps this is why their budget is out of control, immaturity and lack of basic business knowledge. “Liz Maryanski, FSU’s interim vice president for university relations, was caught off guard by comments from Hotchkiss and other school board members. She said she had received an email from the school district’s attorney last week that said it had been a pleasure to work with FSU.
“Frankly, (the newspaper story) surprised me,” she said.
Collegiate Licensing Co., which represents FSU and scores of other major universities, sent letters in August with FSU’s approval to all five high schools that have been identified as using near-exact replicas of the Chief Osceola symbol or Seminole nickname. The schools were asked to stop using FSU’s trademark logo and brand, and to submit a plan for addressing the issue. Similar letters were sent on behalf of University of Florida and numerous other schools.
FSU has never sued any high school on this issue, and it has agreed to multi-year phase-out plans in both settlements.
The university has also approved plans from two other Georgia high schools, Creekside in Fairburn and Westside in Macon, but paperwork hasn’t been submitted to FSU. Neither proposal has prompted a peep of protest. Nor has a plan from a high school in Ohio.
Sherri Dye, director of trademark licensing at FSU, said the university has stressed that it isn’t threatening litigation with the high schools. It’s important that FSU is able to control its trademark logo and brand, she added.
“In hindsight, because the other two went well we thought (Rockdale) would go well,” Maryanski said. “I talked to the principal in Ohio this morning and told him it’s not our intent to cost you money.”
FSU right
March 22nd, 2011
9:24 am
Florida State fan goes into a store and buys a t-shirt and hat with the Seminole logo on them. Florida State rep comes in behind the fan and says to the store owner, “You need to pay a royalty to FSU for selling items with our logo”. Store owner says, “No I don’t because the hat and t-shirt were sold to a high school student from Salem High School”.
Get it yet?????
Megan
March 22nd, 2011
9:30 am
For those that didnt already know it, UGA does not own the trademark to its “G.” Green Bay does and offers them and Grambling limited permission to use it. I agree with allowing a royalty to use the FSU logo, but even better, why not encourage the students to use their creativity and design their own logo?
gatorscott
March 22nd, 2011
9:33 am
Typical Seminoles…but they shouldn’t stop there…Oconnee County…Cherokee…Jenkins…Westside Macon… Baldwin …Lumpkin Co…White Co…Walnut Grove…Vidalia…Dodge County…Cross Keys and Charlton County all have a version of the Seminole spears on the helmets…
This could be very expensive for Georgia Schools
Go Gators!
bobby bowden
March 22nd, 2011
9:35 am
frankly the schools should change their logo and nickname. why be linked to the FSU Criminals?
K-From Da Wood
March 22nd, 2011
9:36 am
These mascots have been in place for years. There is no way that a consumer looking for FSU apparel will associate or mistake Salem for FSU or of being affiliated with the university. This is a total waist of money all the way around. FSU should be ashamed. Are they suing the uniform manufacturer that have the logos in stock all over the world? They are not losing a penny in revenue or an ounce of brand recognition…but after all they are all about higher education right????
Flip
March 22nd, 2011
9:37 am
Megan….
The University of Georgia DOES hold some rights to the logo and was not required to remove the “G” logo as Grambling State was because Vince Dooley slightly redesigned the “G” logo in 1964. Green Bay’s current, redesigned “G” logo is modeled after the University of Georgia’s redesign of the original “G” logo.
See my other post on page 1.
BerryDawg
March 22nd, 2011
9:40 am
Since everyone keeps referencing it, here’s the “official” story on the Georgia/Green Bay connection. Information is available at the following link: http://www.georgiadogs.com/ot/geo-traditions.html
The Georgia “G” Helmet
In 1963 after becoming the Bulldogs’ Head Football Coach, Vince Dooley redesigned the football uniform choosing a red helmet with a black “G” on a white background as the dominant feature of the new uniform for the 1964 season.
He discussed with his staff that a forward-looking “G” would be an appropriate emblem for the helmet of the Georgia team. Dooley had just hired John Donaldson, former Georgia player from 1945 to 1948, as backfield coach. John was keen on the idea of a new image and volunteered his wife, Anne, who had a BFA in commercial art from UGA to design a logo for the new Georgia helmet with the general specifications Dooley had outlined. Dooley accepted Anne’s original “G” which fit his vision for a forward look to Georgia’s new emblem.
Since the Georgia “G”- though different in design and color- was similar to Green Bay’s “G”, Coach Dooley thought it best to clear the use of Georgia’s new emblem with the NFL team. Athletic Director Joel Eaves called for permission which was granted. However, since its inception in 1961, the Green Bay “G” has been redesigned several times and now looks like Georgia’s original 1964 “G.” Georgia is proud that the Packers apparently liked the special nuances of the Bulldogs’ forward-looking “G.”
Georgia’s oval “G”, eventually replacing Georgia’s old block “G” as the official UGA symbol, has stood the test of time. It made its first appearance in the opening game in 1964 and was an immediate hit with the Georgia fans, especially after Dooley’s first three teams were so successful–highlighted by the 1966 SEC Championship.
DOUBLE G
March 22nd, 2011
10:09 am
This is MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING. Some may not understand copyright and trademark laws. But it’s a fact that the schools MUST protect their trademarks. If they don’t, the marks are subject to being diluted, and losing the right to protect them. Trademark law. Better know it.
Hindu Elvis Pimp
March 22nd, 2011
10:49 am
The best thing for the schools is to enlist their AV clubs in to producing a video, then let it go viral on You Tube. The embarrassment for FSU could cause them to change their mind. It worked for Rock Art Brewing when Hansen Beverage tried to litigate them out of business because they had a beer named Vermonster and Hansen had the Monster energy drinks. Within a week, Hansen Beverage backed off and Rock Art got to keep the Vermonster name.
Good Reason to Continue Hating FSU — Peach Pundit
March 22nd, 2011
11:08 am
[...] Criminoles have decided to bully some middle and high schools in Rockdale County, Bibb County and Fairburn into changing the logos on their helmets, uniforms and gymnasium floors. One high school may spend [...]
stop456
March 22nd, 2011
11:42 am
Do the FSU Seminoles pay the Seminole Indians a royalty fee? After all, they used it first.
heartofdarkness
March 22nd, 2011
11:59 am
The arrow logo on FSU helmets is eerily reminiscent of the old Washington Redskins helmets. Maybe all football organizations should be mandated to hire Creative Design Directors, who would oversee all symbolic representations in use by the teams and their fans. That would be job creation. And maybe anyone associated with football could be required to take a course in creative thinking. More jobs. I’m sure these communities have signature phenomena in their history attesting to their uniqueness. More jobs for archaeologists and anthropologists. Why America could solve its unemployment problems in no time. Or, we may choose to remain a nation of forgers, copyright infringers and copycats.
ReddJonn68
March 22nd, 2011
12:10 pm
How can anybody own rights to the heritage of a class of people WTF !!!!!
LAKE OCONEE DAWG
March 22nd, 2011
12:25 pm
FSU should be proud someone else wants to use their symbol, and not make a big to do about it…I think everyone knows the difference in high school teams with the arrow on the side and FSU with the arrow on the side….Steve Spurrier might have had these Seminoles dead to rights….
LAKE OCONEE DAWG
March 22nd, 2011
12:29 pm
The Stogs are stooges….My friends at Westside High School in Macon really hate to give up on the FSU logo because we have made 3 million dollars selling it on shirts, caps, etc….We will send FSU a check today for 3 million to clear our conscience….The Stogs shamed us into it…..
Bill
March 22nd, 2011
1:19 pm
I think the entire Ga State High School Athletic Association should protest the issue and all schools should boycott any FSU scouts coming to their schools for recruiting. FSU should have kept their mouth shut!
Longhorn
March 22nd, 2011
2:23 pm
I hope other colleges do not follow FSU’s lead. If that is the case a lot of schools will be forking over some big money. Kell and Lambert are some prime examples.
yohan
March 22nd, 2011
4:51 pm
Why not sue the company that came up with the designs for the school? They’re the one who knowingly ripped it off.
Chill
March 22nd, 2011
6:08 pm
Everybody wants to jump on FSU, but why can’t schools have enough originality to come up with their own logos?
NativeNole
March 22nd, 2011
6:20 pm
It is hard for me to belive that FSU is pushing this, I have spoke with the AD and others at FSU in the last six weeks about this type of issue. From everything I can gather is is LLC a division of IMG that is pushing this and I hope that this will lead FSU and the other Universities that have a business relationship with these IMG organizations to end the relationship, IMG has business dealings with Several ACC,SEC, Big East, schools and I hope this will have a impact their business dealing with IMG.
Jenn
March 22nd, 2011
6:57 pm
I think this is just silly. There are other schools that use symbols from other sports teams. Why does FSU get control over the word Seminoles? What about those native americans of that tribe? Will they get sued from FSU for using their name? Dumbness!
Jenn
March 22nd, 2011
7:01 pm
One more thing, in regards to the comment “why can’t the schools come up with their own logo”, the school’s focus is to promote college. I grew up with the bulldog as my mascot which got a lot of my classmates motivated to go to UGA after high school. If FSU doesn’t like the fact that these schools are advertising for them to get their admissions up, then they can just sit on their money pile with this dumb lawsuit.
Todd
March 22nd, 2011
7:50 pm
I’m sure there will be other stories of schools in violation…certainly the Georgia football helmet project webpage will help schools(colleges) ID violators of the infringement. Kell High School in Marietta should be worried about the Longhorn on their helmet. If I were at Duluth or Appalachee high schools I would be worried about the infringement going on there as well. Recently a school in Ohio has notified of their violation of the University of Pittsburgh’s logo on their football field. Imagine having to place a new turf field down, that has to be more expensive than a gym floor. If these HS would just follow the law, and make contact with the schools and create an agreement, then this would not happen.
pmuckle
March 23rd, 2011
7:55 am
seriously?
Mike
March 23rd, 2011
9:24 am
According to FSU, “High schools have been given many years to gradually comply, not 30 days, as has been reported. The deadlines for changes to be made were suggested by Rockdale County on behalf of Salem High School, and accepted by FSU, not dictated to them. FSU has provided the high schools with a royalty-free license for a period of 10 years, as they transition from the use of the Seminole Indian Head, Indian Maiden, and Spear marks. These changes are designed to not adversely affect schools’ budgets. FSU is very flexible with regard to the timeframe.” It’s a big, bad business world out there so I guess FSU has got to protect it’s piece of the pie!
Really
March 23rd, 2011
12:24 pm
GO NOLES
Really
March 23rd, 2011
12:24 pm
GO NOLES
Jackets21
March 23rd, 2011
4:38 pm
Totally classless FSU. Mimicking is flattery, silly rabbit.
Really
March 23rd, 2011
4:40 pm
Free Shoes University (FSU) at its best.
Jack b nimble
March 23rd, 2011
4:43 pm
That’s all we need now, college football acting like the NFL. These are public universities right? Should they be worried about maybe educating a person or two or more worried about sports marketing rights? What next, sue Mississippi State over uniform color infringement?
007
March 23rd, 2011
9:13 pm
This ranks FSU right up there with Auburn & Iran.
James
March 24th, 2011
8:40 am
Sounds like a couple of school board members are too lazy or incompetent (take your pick) to understand the deal. Excerpts from an e-mail I received from FSU …
“Florida State University would like to clarify the agreement that has been amicably reached following collaboration between Salem High School and the university regarding use of university trademarks, which has been the subject of recent news stories:
-FSU has never sued any high school on this issue, nor threatened to sue.
-High schools have been given many years to gradually comply. The deadlines for changes to be made were suggested by the high school’s officials and accepted by FSU. Florida State has provided high schools with a royalty-free license for a period of 10 years, as they transition from the use of the Seminole Indian Head, Indian Maiden, and Spear marks, a schedule designed to not adversely affect schools’ budgets.
-In addition, the schools can continue to use the Seminole and Nole word marks, provided they are used in conjunction with the school name, e.g., Salem High School Seminoles.
-Schools are not required to take down or change memorabilia that already exist.”
zack
March 24th, 2011
10:09 am
Ok you idiots ragging on FSU. Read the article that finally came out in which other Universities are doing the same thing. The newest article has now name UF and Mississipi that are doing the exact same thing. The only difference is the “violaters” are not in Georgia. So GatorScott, looks like your boys are NO BETTER!!!!!!!!!
zack
March 24th, 2011
10:22 am
Oh yeah and the NCAA licensing department that brought this to the school’s attention is in ATLANTA. Remember this all you Nole haters. It was not the Noles that started this, it was NCAA licensing department, here is ATLANTA.
aren't these PUBLIC universities
March 24th, 2011
12:46 pm
and therefore the PUBLIC owns the trademarks. And the PUBLIC schools should have the right to use them at no charge.
Boobie Bowden
March 26th, 2011
8:40 pm
Over here in the wasteland of Alabama, I have it on good authority that an area school pays a $ a year for use of the Tech logo and the Yellow Jacket name. Eminently fair. Tech defends its logo, and it really costs the high school nothing. The legal and preferred way.
Who cares (the original)
March 29th, 2011
9:39 am
I remember a few years back. UGA went after Grambling for using the G in their helmet. They soon found out that they didn’t hold the trademark for it, but it was the property of the Packers. They know that using the G in college with different colors for a different fan base would not affect them.
Colleges Protecting Logos | Commerce Tigers.com
March 30th, 2011
10:16 pm
[...] AJC story … comments are numerous & pretty funny. [...]
footballcrazymom
April 19th, 2011
4:33 pm
I don’t really care about the suit or any of that, personally. But, as the mother of an athlete, I can tell those of you that said the schools, coaches, etc. should never allow recruiters on their campus have lost your minds! It’s not the coach’s or the school’s call–if FSU offered my son a full ride for a free college education, that coach better not stand in his way!
Curious
May 2nd, 2011
3:12 am
Does Newark High School in Delaware have a license to use the Buzz logo?
As if there weren't enough reasons to hate Notre Dame - Page 2
October 20th, 2011
2:59 pm
[...] Penn State tries to stop Christian school from using logo – AltoonaMirror.com – Altoona, PA | News, Sports, Jobs, Community Information – The Altoona Mirror http://blogs.ajc.com/georgia-high-sc…-schools/?cp=2 [...]
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