What happens when two schools in the same state have the same name?

That’s the situation 175-year-old Franklin College in Franklin, IN, had to deal with when Franklin University decided to open a nearby branch campus.

To make matters worse, the university’s ads use a similar logo and colors as Franklin College – creating confusion among students, said James Moseley, the school’s president.

So the college sued the university to protect its registered trademark and won its case.

The courts recently ruled that as of Aug. 3, the university will call itself “Franklin University of Ohio” or “Franklin University, Columbus, Ohio” in its advertising and on its Web site. The university is also prohibited from referring to itself as “Franklin” in ads that run in Indiana.

But that’s not quite the end of it for Franklin University. The court also ruled the school must spend approximately the same amount of money for the next three months (starting Aug. 1) promoting itself in Indiana as it spent from April 1 through July 1.

And that could prove pretty costly.

But for Franklin College, all’s well that ends well.

“This is about protecting our reputation and our 175-year history in Indiana,” Moseley said, “and we are pleased to resolve these issues so we can move forward.”

Was Franklin College justified in taking the case to court? Let us know what you think in the comments section below.

Tags: Franklin College, Franklin University, James Moseley