NCAA - St. Cloud State University
St.
Cloud State U. Wants Northwoods League Team to Change
Logo
 St.
Cloud State University officials are prepared to play
hardball with a Northwoods League expansion team if it
refuses to stop using a logo similar to the school's.
The Duluth Huskies, who join the St. Cloud River Bats in
the Northwoods League this summer, received notification
Tuesday of a trademark infringement complaint from
Collegiate Licensing Co. The Atlanta-based firm
represents the university.
According to St. Cloud State athletic director Morris
Kurtz, the Duluth baseball team's logo too closely
resembles a husky dog head logo the university has used
the past four years.
"They've been notified to cease and desist," Kurtz
said.
The baseball team must respond to the complaint by
June 3. Duluth general manager Craig Smith said the team
is seeking its own interpretation of the complaint but
will alter the logo if legally bound.
 "What
about St. Cloud State's main logo? That could be an
infringement on the Montreal Canadiens," said Smith, who
said he got the original inspiration for his design by
searching the Internet for free clip art. "It sounds
like it's six of one and half-dozen of the other to me.
But it's not our goal to infringe on anyone's rights
and, if the logo is trade-marked, we had no clue."
According to Michael Drucker, associate counsel with
Collegiate, that's no excuse. The university can pursue
claims under state and federal law.
"Once you use something commercially, you've gone
over the line," said Drucker, whose company oversees the
licensing interests of more than 180 colleges, 14 bowl
games, 10 conferences, the NCAA and the Heisman Trophy
Award. "If you go into business, it's your
responsibility to make sure marks identifying your
product don't infringe on a trademark that belongs to
someone else.
"But our goal is always to solve these situations
short of litigation," he said.
This article was taken from
miva.sctimes.com. All rights
reserved.
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