KU sues t-shirt maker for trademark infringement

Kansas University sues t-shirt maker Joe-College.com for selling t-shirts that allegedly infringe the University’s trademarks.  According to the Lawrence Journal-World & News, KU earned nearly $1 million dollars last year in royalties generated from licensing its trademarks.  According to the owner of Joe-College.com, none of the shirts are intended to be associated with the University.

College athletics has become big business on several levels, inlcuding apparel.  Trademarks are intended to identify the source or origin of goods or services with which they are used in order to prevent consumer confusion.  A trademark owner does not have the absolute right to remove a word, symbol, etc. from public usage.  Instead, only those uses that are likely to confuse consumers as to the source or origin of the goods or as to whether there is some affilation or relationship between the parties are prohibited.