For a 19-year-old Ball State University sophomore, the creation and online marketing of “I’d Ball U” T-shirts was a way to make a few bucks and learn a lesson in marketing, reports The Star Press.
For university officials, it’s another kind of teachable moment: Ball State officials said Wednesday they plan to crack down on the student’s unauthorized use of the school”s registered trademarks.
Max Miller said he hasn’t yet sold any T-shirts, but he anticipates demand will be great: The “I’d Ball U” page on Facebook already has more than 1,300 fans.
Miller acknowledged he didn’t get the university’s permission, arguing, “Their only registered trademark is Ball State University, which isn’t on any of our T-shirts. Saying something like ‘Ball U’ is too broad a term to copyright or trademark.”
Not so, Ball State spokesman Kevin Burke told The Star Press.
“The ‘Ball U’ logo the group is incorporating is a protected mark and falls under our various intellectual property agreements,” Burke said. “The university will be taking appropriate actions to have ‘I’d Ball U’ stop using protected and registered marks. That process has already begun.”
Photo by I’d Ball U.com.