Drake College sues neighborhood faculty over “D” emblem
Drake College and Des Moines Space Neighborhood School are locked in a authorized battle over the letter “D.”
The neighborhood faculty rebranded final yr, altering its emblem to a easy, block-style “D.” Drake, a close-by non-public college, additionally makes use of the letter as its emblem and took difficulty with the shift.
Drake College sued the neighborhood faculty in U.S. District Court docket on Monday to cease the usage of the brand new emblem, The Des Moines Register reported. The swimsuit expenses the school with trademark infringement, unfair competitors, harm to enterprise popularity and unjust enrichment.
“Drake College merely doesn’t personal the letter D,” Rob Denson, president of Des Moines Space Neighborhood School, informed the information outlet.
Drake leaders argue within the criticism that the college has used its single-letter emblem since 1902. It incorporates pictures mentioning the similarities between the college’s “D” and the neighborhood faculty’s, together with photographs of Drake’s reside bulldog mascot sporting a “D” shirt and a photograph of the rapper Drake sporting a Drake College jacket whereas in Des Moines for a 2016 live performance.
The college trademarked its “D”—in addition to the college’s seal and colours, blue and lightweight blue, in line with the Register. The criticism additionally claims the neighborhood faculty has began utilizing these colours and the same seal.
Drake president Marty Martin reportedly met with Denson to debate the problem in February, and after subsequent conferences between the 2 establishments, neighborhood faculty leaders agreed to make use of the “D” emblem solely alongside “DMACC” for 3 years. Martin rejected the proposal.
The college is searching for to forestall the neighborhood faculty from promoting items with the brand new branding and asking that supplies with the school’s new emblem or seal be disposed of, Iowa Capital Dispatch reported. The lawsuit additionally calls on the school to “pay over to Drake all income realized by its wrongful acts.”
