The Supreme Court Sacks USC
Not that college from sunny California, the other “SC”, the University of South Carolina.
Yesterday, the Supreme Court of the United States refused to hear the appeal of South Carolina in its 13 year battle to use a logo with an interlocking “SC” letters similar to the University of Southern California’s famous “SC.” This decision ended one of the longest trade mark battles ever between football power universities.
The Trojans, the real “SC” I guess, argued that its interlocking “SC” logo was its legal trademark and that another interlocking logo from South Carolina would only cause confusion in the marketplace. However, the Gamecocks countered that a real fan should know the difference between the two schools and their logos.
The Supreme Court, in refusing to hear the Gamecocks appeal, adopted that argument that the Trojans “owned” the interlocking “SC” and it was theirs to keep.
In the end, the Trojans were successful blocking the Gamecocks from infringing on their legal trademark territory.
My name is Christopher Fusco. I am the managing partner of Callahan & Fusco, LLC with offices in New York, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania.