Florida State University recently reached a settlement with a Georgia county board of education that will require the board to make sure a middle school and high school stop using images of FSU’s trademarked spear design and Seminole head.

At first, the university asked the board to stop using the Seminoles name as well. But it backed off a bit, saying the Georgia schools could keep using the name as long as it was preceded by the name of the high school or middle school.

That concession didn’t eliminate a big headache for the board: finding a way to come up with the $200,000 or so it’s going to cost to remove the trademarked logos from football helmets, gyms and fields.

One school board member said she thought the university’s cease-and-desist letter was a joke. “Why are they going after the little guys?” she asked the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

Should universities stop high school sports teams from using their logos? Tell us what you think in the comments section below – and don’t forget to follow us on Twitter.

The University of South Carolina filed an application to trademark its baseball logo, which included the letters “SC.” The school wanted to use the mark on hats, uniforms, T-shirts and shorts.

There was just one problem: The University of Southern California was already using “SC.” It opposed registration of the mark, arguing that allowing South Carolina to use it would create a likelihood of confusion.

The University of South Carolina didn’t respond quietly. It filed a counterclaim, seeking cancellation of the University of Southern California’s mark. The California school’s use of the mark falsely suggested an association with the state of South Carolina, the University of South Carolina argued.

Not so, the court said. The initials “SC” don’t point uniquely to South Carolina, it reasoned. In fact, at least 16 other schools also represent themselves as “SC.”

The court also agreed with the University of Southern California that allowing the University of South Carolina to register the mark would create a likelihood of confusion, since the marks would appear on the same kinds of goods and in the same channels of trade.

The court affirmed the Trademark Trial and Appeals Board’s decision, which refused to register the University of South Carolina’s proposed mark and rejected its attempt to cancel the University of Southern California’s mark.

Cite: University of South Carolina v. University of Southern California.

Should schools be able to trademark school initials that are shared with other schools? Tell us what you think in the comments section below.