After waging battles over budget cuts, earmark funding and the H1N1 flu virus, Ball State University is ending it's calender year fighting for the rights to its logo.
The "Raider bird" at Portland High School, in Portland, Mich., looks too similar to Ball State's "Cardinal bird," Michael Van Wieren, general counsel for the Licensing Resource Group of Holland, Ball State's licensing agent, said.
Tony Proudfoot, associate vice president for marketing and communications, said Portland is infringing on the Ball State trademark and the university wants the high school to "cease and desist" using the logo.
However, Portland school corporation superintendent Charles Dumas thinks the two birds can peacefully coexist.
Dumas said the high school, which has a student population of 602 students that wouldn't fill Pruis Hall, is too far away and has too different of a purpose for the two logos to conflict.
"I think to be fair, Ball State needs to see the situation as it is — we're just a small school district," he said.
Dumas said Portland would have to change uniforms, awards, banners and many other items.
Proudfoot said there is no middle ground on the issue, saying the university would give the high school a "reasonable time frame" to make the necessary changes.
"We are in communication with the high school clarifying that we take this seriously," Proudfoot said. "... We have to draw a very clear and fine line. This is a very standard practice. It's absolutely critical for protecting and building up our mark."
The "Cardinal bird" has been a registered trademark of Ball State since 1989 when alumnus William Villarreal won a nationwide contest to design the image.
Dumas said Portland adopted the logo around the same time from a company who said it was free from trademark.
"High schools don't normally think about copyrighting their logo," Dumas said. "You just don't think about it until something like this comes up."
Trademark infringement applies if the trademark is likely to cause confusion between goods, according to the Harvard Law School Web site. Courts will look to factors such as the strength of the logo, the similarity of the logos, marketing channels and any evidence of brand confusion.
Proudfoot said the university has put considerable time and resources into developing the trademark bird as a symbol.
"We're in a position where we can't make exceptions," he said. "We must protect the intellectual property of the university."
High schools rarely win trademark infringement fights with universities. Last November, a Massachusetts high school was forced to abandon its logo when Virginia Tech officials said it imitated the college's trademarked "VT" symbol too closely. Penn State University and Arizona State University have also pursued local high schools for similar complaints.
"I'm confident we can work with Ball State," Dumas said. "So far, I've seen no indication otherwise."
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