City High Logo

[Cyforce]

I'm sure they've worked out an agreement with Iowa to use their logo,
but isn't funny how Iowa is going after some High school in California
for infringement. It isn't an issue because because of recruiting.

On a side note Carlisle uses K-State's logo.
They were flattered somebody wanted to use it.
Carlisle pays like a buck a year for the right.

 

[JP4CY]

All sorts of schools do, even Ames' neighbor Gilbert (Georgia)

 

[JJ4ISU]

I had no vested interest in the game, but rooted for Dowling because of the Tiger Hawk logo on the City High helmets.

 

[beatiowa]

It mostly depends on how the college views the situation. High schools using the logo can be considered a good thing because it gives the logo more exposure, but it can also risk losing the distinctness of the college's identity if the logo becomes too widely used. Obviously the colleges could take legal action since they own their trademarks, but my guess is most colleges just don't care because most high schools never receive national attention to the point it would ever really matter.

As for City High, there's no reason why UI should want them to not use it. It builds an automatic allegiance with every student who attends City High, which could help when trying to bring some City High athletes to Iowa. As for that California school, my guess is they don't want them using it because there's no way UI would benefit from it.

 

[simply1]

You have to be careful picking and choosing when to defend your mark though, if you selectively pursue, you can lose.

 

[Sighclone Fan]

My high school in mn had Iowa's logo, until they threatened to sue us after many years of using it. So we changed it. That is probably when my hatred for Iowa started.

 

[Cyforce]

All sorts of schools do, even Ames' neighbor Gilbert (Georgia)

Georgia's logo is a rip off of the Packers.

Question for a lawyer
If a school fought Iowa on this.
Would it hurts Iowa's case that they allow City High to use it?
If they have an agreement with City High, would they be obligated to offer it to other schools as well?

 

[AmesHawk]

Georgia's logo is a rip off of the Packers.

Question for a lawyer
If a school fought Iowa on this.
Would it hurts Iowa's case that they allow City High to use it?
If they have an agreement with City High, would they be obligated to offer it to other schools as well?

Is this a serious question? Iowa has rights to the tigerhawk logo, they can do whatever they want with it or let anyone they want use it. They can also deny anyone they want from using it. This is why we have trademarks.

 

[fanaticagain]

This type of thing is actually pretty commonplace in my experience. My high school's mascot was the Trojans, and we used to have USC's trojanhead logo on our basketball court.

I don't remember where I saw it, but I swear I can remember some high school using a variation of the twirlybird logo. Anybody know what I'm talking about?

 

[clone52]

I think its rediculous when any college is that stringent on it. The University of Miami threatened to sue Union, Laporte City for using the same font on some shirts and jackets with a U on it. I just don't see the downside of for a college. If they're struggling with brand recognition with high schools across the country, they've got major problems that lawsuits aren't going to fix.

Just think about it. Some 8 year old in California has the tiger hawk for his school logo. He's stumbling across football games some Saturday with his dad and see's Iowa playing. He says "Hey Dad, who's that team with the same symbol we have?" Dad says "Why thats the Iowa Hawkeyes son." Kid says "Cool, I think I'll cheer for them." What is the downside?

My hunch is that the schools that do this think they can make some money off it. They probably tell the schools to either get them a cut of the money they are selling their gear for or we'll sue you. They probably have such a huge ego that they think a high school would be so in awe of their symbol that they'd actually pay.

I mean seriously. You don't think that having hundreds of high schools across the country use the tiger hawk symbol wouldn't be a boost to Iowa's national prestiege? I know it would make me sick and thats exactly why I'm stunned that Iowa is not only suing a school that does it, but their not out there actively recruiting schools to do the same.

 

[fanaticagain]

I think its rediculous when any college is that stringent on it. The University of Miami threatened to sue Union, Laporte City for using the same font on some shirts and jackets with a U on it.

That reminds me, Urbandale is a double-offender. They use KU's jayhawk logo and Miami's "U" mark.

 

[clone52]

Is this a serious question? Iowa has rights to the tigerhawk logo, they can do whatever they want with it or let anyone they want use it. They can also deny anyone they want from using it. This is why we have trademarks.

Legally you are correct. But typically trademarks are used to protect the product and sales. I can't make a cola called Pebsi and put it in a red and blue can because I would be trying to use their product to steal their marketplace.

In the case of college mascots, high schools are not stealing anything from colleges. Their target audience is people who go to that school, live in that town or have kids at that school. Its not like any of the target audience is deciding between an Iowa Hawkeye t-shirt and a Random CA High School t-shirt. All Iowa is doing is stopping the spread of their brand.

The only place I could see Iowa getting worried about it is if a school in Iowa or near Iowa was using it and had the colors black and gold so they were actually trying to make people think they were buying Iowa Hawkeye gear.

 

[AmesHawk]

Legally you are correct. But typically trademarks are used to protect the product and sales. I can't make a cola called Pebsi and put it in a red and blue can because I would be trying to use their product to steal their marketplace.

In the case of college mascots, high schools are not stealing anything from colleges. Their target audience is people who go to that school, live in that town or have kids at that school. Its not like any of the target audience is deciding between an Iowa Hawkeye t-shirt and a Random CA High School t-shirt. All Iowa is doing is stopping the spread of their brand.

The only place I could see Iowa getting worried about it is if a school in Iowa or near Iowa was using it and had the colors black and gold so they were actually trying to make people think they were buying Iowa Hawkeye gear.

I never said that I don't think the U of I should let schools use it, just stated the obvious that they have the rights to the logo and they can do as they please, just like every other college with a trademarked logo. The Wisconsin/Waukee deal a few years back comes to mind.

 

[jdoggivjc]

]I think its rediculous when any college is that stringent on it.[/B] The University of Miami threatened to sue Union, Laporte City for using the same font on some shirts and jackets with a U on it. I just don't see the downside of for a college. If they're struggling with brand recognition with high schools across the country, they've got major problems that lawsuits aren't going to fix.

Just think about it. Some 8 year old in California has the tiger hawk for his school logo. He's stumbling across football games some Saturday with his dad and see's Iowa playing. He says "Hey Dad, who's that team with the same symbol we have?" Dad says "Why thats the Iowa Hawkeyes son." Kid says "Cool, I think I'll cheer for them." What is the downside?

My hunch is that the schools that do this think they can make some money off it. They probably tell the schools to either get them a cut of the money they are selling their gear for or we'll sue you. They probably have such a huge ego that they think a high school would be so in awe of their symbol that they'd actually pay.

I mean seriously. You don't think that having hundreds of high schools across the country use the tiger hawk symbol wouldn't be a boost to Iowa's national prestiege? I know it would make me sick and thats exactly why I'm stunned that Iowa is not only suing a school that does it, but their not out there actively recruiting schools to do the same.

Why is it ridiculous? Colleges spend millions of dollars establishing their identity, including the purchase of copyrights and trade marks to protect what they have established. Why shouldn't they be allowed to use their identity how they wish, to include who can and can't use their identity? It's the whole reason why intellectual property law is there in the first place.

 

[Cyforce]

Is this a serious question? Iowa has rights to the tigerhawk logo, they can do whatever they want with it or let anyone they want use it. They can also deny anyone they want from using it. This is why we have trademarks.

So if 6 or 7 Iowa High schools requested the UofI allow them to use their logo and were denied you would see no issue with that?

 

[Clark]

So if 6 or 7 Iowa High schools requested the UofI allow them to use their logo and were denied you would see no issue with that?

Why would they deny an Iowa high school? They denied a California high school because the likelihood of getting any benefit out of it is very small.

It's the same reason Wisconsin went after Waukee. Had Waukee been a town in Wisconsin they probably don't say anything about it.

 

[jdoggivjc]

So if 6 or 7 Iowa High schools requested the UofI allow them to use their logo and were denied you would see no issue with that?

Nope, I see no issue with it. Iowa owns the trademarks - they can allow whomever they want to use it and tell everyone else to pound rocks. Like I said, there's a reason why intellectual property laws are in existence...

 

[beatiowa]

Why is it ridiculous? Colleges spend millions of dollars establishing their identity, including the purchase of copyrights and trade marks to protect what they have established. Why shouldn't they be allowed to use their identity how they wish, to include who can and can't use their identity? It's the whole reason why intellectual property law is there in the first place.

On top of that, most (if not all) athletics trademarks have very specific standards as to what can and cannot be done when using it. For example, there are usage rules for the "I-State" mark that say you cannot alter the colors, no other objects or text can touch/overlap the mark, among many other things. They can't guarantee that those high schools won't incorrectly use the trademark, and that can be viewed as compromising the integrity of it. It all depends on how each individual Athletic Department views the benefits and disadvantages of the high schools using it to determine what actions they take.

 

[clone52]

Why would they deny an Iowa high school? They denied a California high school because the likelihood of getting any benefit out of it is very small.

It's the same reason Wisconsin went after Waukee. Had Waukee been a town in Wisconsin they probably don't say anything about it.

What exactly would hurt the Hawkeyes if a California school used their logo?

 

[brother bob]

there are a lot of high schools in a lot of states who use different college/pro logos on helmets. i don't see the problem in using that ugly stenciled sky rat on a helmet. Heck, if they want to look silly that is their own fault - LOL

no, really if you'd like to see lots of football helmets ranging from pro to college to high school to fantasy helmets go to this web site: www.mghelmets.com . mike does a wonderful job showcasing various football helmets and creating some interesting ones as well.

a couple of my favorites on this site are the Sun Prairie Cardinals from Wisconsin, and the Poca Dots from Poca West Virginia. I laughed at that last one for a long time...and then had to find out for myself it really was a town/high school in WV and as I was looking - there it was...too funny!