NCAA University Trademarks Facing Anti-Trust Legal Battle

By John Disque

On June 10, 2011 Dechert LLP (a highly powerful and gigantic global law firm) sent a letter to more than 24 NCAA universities. The letter demands that the universities stop restricting the number of suppliers that can use the individual colleges' trademark.

The University of Tennessee is one of the schools listed which could mark the beginning of a long and expensive legal battle for UT.

The sale of trademarked products is a $4 billion industry and a huge source of revenue for the learning institutes. The schools limit the number of companies that can use the trademark so they can keep track of the income, ensure the trademark is being properly used, and keep an eye on quality and pricing.

A violating use of the trademark would include any company using the school's initials, logos, symbols, indicia, insignia, mascot, slogan, name, nicknames or service mark.

UT puts their official trademark on close to 2,000 different items (everything from jerseys, jackets, hats, coolers and baseballs to plastic cutlery sets and neckties). Most of the items are sold by a company named Football Fanatics, Inc (store name - College Football Store) who is licensed to sell the items. UT is not Football Fanatics' only client. They are licensed to sell the products of 118 different colleges.

Of all products with the UT trademark sold UT receives 10% royalty. There are 5 different license applications to choose from:

STANDARD - restricted to those companies capable of extensive production and distribution.
RESTRICTED - items exclusively sold to the school
LOCAL - For in-state companies selling the products of no more than 5 local schools.
CRAFTER - handmade items at certain events and limited to 100 sold items with no more than 1000 total sales per university.
LIMITED USE - for commercial use for a restricted time.

The number of companies that apply and receive the licensing is limited.

Dechert LLC is claiming that the practice of limiting the number of companies or individuals who can use the trademark is a violation of anti-trust laws.

Published June 16, 2011, 3:17 p.m.

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