Penn State sues sports apparel company, alleges trademark infringement of its logos
Penn State accused a sports apparel company in a federal lawsuit filed Monday of using its trademarked logos without permission.
Vintage Brand sells merchandise with logos that are “confusingly similar” and “virtually identical” to the school’s trademarks, the university wrote in its 56-page lawsuit.
The Seattle-based business did not respond Tuesday to a request for comment. Penn State declined comment.
The university branded the company as a “serial infringer.” At least a dozen other universities have lodged similar lawsuits against the business, including fellow Big Ten member Purdue.
Trademark attorney Josh Gerben — who is not associated with the lawsuit — didn’t paint a rosy picture for the business Tuesday. The case will likely be “pretty difficult” to defend, Gerben said.
“You can’t take a university’s name and logo and print it on a shirt and sell it. Those logos and those names are protected by federal trademark registrations,” Gerben said. “By selling merchandise without a license from the university, it’s normally a pretty clear-cut case for trademark infringement.”
Penn State is seeking a multitude of penalties in the six-count lawsuit, including a requirement that Vintage Brand give up any of its profits from using the university’s trademarks.