Sigma Chi Wins Trademark Infringement Case
 

SIGMA CHI WINS TRADEMARK INFRINGEMENT CASE
Court of Appeals affirms District Court's ruling


VISTA, Calif. 9/4/02—The Sigma Chi Fraternity, a non-profit organization committed to the ideals of friendship, justice and learning, today announced a favorable ruling by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit, affirming the lower court’s ruling that Taylor Corporation, d.b.a. Greek Lifestyles, was guilty of two counts of trademark infringement and one count of unfair competition.

“The Court upheld our long-standing claim that the unauthorized use of Sigma Chi’s trademarks is a violation of the Fraternity’s trademark rights,” said Jack Wheat, Esq., leader of southeastern regional law firm Stite and Harbison’s Intellectual Property Services Group and lead counsel for Sigma Chi. “We are confident that this decision will serve as a strong precedent in favor of fraternity and sorority licensing programs.”

Prior to the Court’s decision, The International Trademark Association, a not-for-profit organization, whose more than 3,800 members have a special interest in trademarks, submitted a brief urging the Court of Appeals to “uphold the principles of unfair competition law applied by the District Court.” The Court of Appeals did just that, and more, by stating in its decision, “We affirm the judgment entered in this case based on the District Court’s well-reasoned memorandum opinion filed on April 7, 2000.”

“After Taylor’s failed attempt to overturn the ruling in Sigma Chi’s favor, there should be no question regarding the trademark rights of Sigma Chi and other fraternal organizations,” said Dan Shaver, president of Affinity Marketing Consultants Inc., a licensing consultancy. “We are pleased that the Court affirmed Sigma Chi’s rights and reinforced that fraternities and sororities enjoy the same legal protection against infringement that other intellectual property owners enjoy.”

Sigma Chi originally filed suit upon discovery that Taylor was marketing and selling, without authorization, merchandise bearing Sigma Chi’s registered marks. Sigma Chi continues to aggressively enforce its trademark rights to ensure that only the highest quality products and services contain its marks. Through a comprehensive program, Sigma Chi licenses vendors who provide quality products, reasonable prices and exceptional service to the Fraternity’s more than 200,000 members, their families and friends.

About Sigma Chi Fraternity
The Sigma Chi Fraternity has 222 collegiate chapters and more than 200,000 living members. The fundamental purpose of the Sigma Chi Fraternity is to cultivate an appreciation of and commitment to the ideals of friendship, justice and learning. These ideals and objectives have been at the heart of Sigma Chi since its founding by seven men at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio, on June 28, 1855. Its guiding principles, unchanged for almost 150 years, continue to define the essence of Sigma Chi. This international non-profit organization is headquartered in Evanston, Ill.; more information can be found online at www.sigmachi.org or by contacting the Fraternity headquarters at (847) 869-3655.

About Affinity Marketing Consultants, Inc.
Affinity Marketing Consultants Inc. is a full-service consulting firm specializing in the administration of licensing programs. To learn more about licensing and gain access to a wide range of licensed vendors, visit www.GreekLicensing.com.

I think that this is great. It's a very important Benchmark for all the copyright infringement that occurs with non-licensed vendors. Just remember, most of the venders out there may not be licensed by your paticular group, and it's something to check on before you purchase.

yay! I'm in a frat, Yayyyy I'm going to Hawaii Yaayyyy

Congrats to Sigma Chi on an important legal victory! :)

I just want to say thank-you to Greek Lifestyles for featuring (ahem) HANDCUFFS for sale on their website...

incidentally, I tried to see if they were selling any of our stuff, and they didn't list the Greek groups they did. What's up w/ that?

I went to the Greek Shop that we use down here the other day, and noticed that they didn't have anything Sigma Chi (I'm currently seeing a Sigma Chi and wanted to get him something small). When I asked, she said that the licensing was so hard to get that they don't sell it. Later that evening, I told my man about it, and he said that they try to make it so that noone who hasn't been initiated into Sigma Chi can get the letters.

I know they're saying this about Sigma Chi, but that they say this about ANY GLO, brings a big smile to my face....:D

Carolina DG,

It's not that we don't want people buying our letters, its the fact that's stated in the news release. Our letters are trademarked and when you go to get t-shirts made at your local screenprinting shop or by glasswear, stickers, etc. at your local greek store they are making money off of our letters with out paying for them. There are plenty of licensed vendors out there for Sigma Chi, try going to sigmachi.org and linking to vendors for online purchases.


Delta sig Stan,

"Friendship, Justice and Learning" is part of our purpose it's not 3 little words that sound cool.


"education is the key to improving stupidity" (my dad)

sigOsig,

I don't think that DeltaSigStan was trying to be rude in his post -- he was just happy to see a GLO being promoted in the news in a positive light. I'm sure he didn't mean to insult your organization in any way.

In the Greek Bond,
dzrose93

This is something I'm curious about ... obviously I don't want some third party making AXD shirts and selling them without going through the licensing process. Any company feels that way about its name. BUT what about when a chapter has special event shirts made for Greek Week, rush, etc.? Is there some special screen-printer we're "supposed" to use that has been licensed? If there is, I haven't heard about it, and I think most chapters just go to their local t-shirt company.

I think there are certain t-shirt companies (I think Greek101 is one) that makes the shirt and is a licensed greek vendor. But I'll agree, most just go to their local screenprinter.

And Delta Gamma also has a list of licensed vendors where we're supposed to get our stuff. I'm pretty sure everyone else does, too, though.

We do have a licensed vendor, but the colours/styles they offer are limited and the merchandise (the sweatshirts particularly) is EXTREMELY expensive. Don't get me wrong, I'd love to support my org, but I'm not going to pay $50 for a letter sweatshirt in a color I don't really like when I could make a letter sweatshirt with whatever colors I want for $15.