KU Wins T-shirt Design Lawsuit

July 25, 2008

The University of Kansas (KU), Lawrence, Kan., recently won a trademark infringement lawsuit over Joe-College.com, an online T-shirt shop. Joe-College must pay KU $127,000 in penalties for selling T-shirts that jurors found violated the university's trademark or insulted its image.

Jurors were asked to decide if the shirt designs infringed on a KU trademark or caused legal dilution, which is when the trademark's reputation for quality is tarnished or its distinction is blurred.

KU officials had originally identified 206 T-shirt designs created and sold by Joe College as violating the school's trademarks or insulting its image. The jurors only identified roughly 40 to 50 of the designs as being in violation.

Joe College owner Larry Sinks agreed to stop selling any shirts found in violation. The verdict was greeted favorably by the 490 vendors licensed by KU, who saw the unlicensed shirts as unfair competition.

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