Paraphenalia:Suit filed against Converse: UPDATE

[MissPdiva]

Hello ladies,
I hope everyone's day is going well! I just have a question. I have heard that it wasn't really a good thing to wear paraphenalia a great deal! Like for instance, when someone that just crosses wears paraphenalia like everyday, I have heard people refer to that as being the "neophyte syndrone." Is something wrong with sporting para alot? If so, why is that? I believe if you get accepted into a sorority, you should be able to wear as much para as you want.

[AKA2D '91]

LOL... (I CHANGE MY ANSWER TO...)

...NO COMMENT...



[This message has been edited by AKA2D '91 (edited February 04, 2001).]

[SWEETAKA]

Originally posted by AKA2D '91:
LOL... (I CHANGE MY ANSWER TO...)

...NO COMMENT...

[This message has been edited by AKA2D '91 (edited February 04, 2001).]

LOL--I am sure Soror I understand why. I tried to think of a comment but..... well no comment.

[AKA2D '91]

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

African-American Sororities and Fraternities File
Trademark Infringement Suit Against Converse
Suit alleges that Converse gained at the expense of African-American
groups and consumers

Dallas, TX - December 17, 2003 - The Council of Presidents announced today
that they have sued sports apparel company Converse, Inc. for trademark
infringement and deceptive trade practices.

"We were concerned that Converse, using unfair competition and infringing
upon our groups' intellectual property, had deliberately and callously
decided to
target the members of our organizations for sales of its shoes without
obtaining any sort of permission from our groups," said Helen Owens, Chair
of the
Council of Presidents and national president of Sigma Gamma Rho Sorority,
Inc.

The lawsuit, which has been filed in the United District Court for the
Northern District of Texas, Dallas Division, maintains that Converse has
been manufacturing, marketing, and selling athletic footwear, called the
GreekPak, to members and supporters of African-American fraternities and
sororities and that this conduct constitutes trademark and trade dress
infringement, as well as unfair competition and deceptive trade practices.
As indicated
by Harry Johnson, national president of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc.,
"the
Converse shoes we're looking at contain the identical founding year and
organizational colors as our respective organizations and was an obvious
attempt by
Converse to capitalize on the goodwill our groups have worked so hard to
develop. This was no coincidence."

The lawsuit charges that Converse has enriched itself at the expense of the
African-American fraternities and sororities and the unsuspecting consumers
who
believe that Converse has permission from and endorsement by these
African-American groups to sell these shoes. The lawsuit seeks damages for
past acts of
infringement, punitive damages, and requests that Converse be enjoined from
continuing to sell these products without permission. Converse was purchased
by
Nike in September 2003.

"This lawsuit will send the message to large and small companies that our
organizations will aggressively protect our rights and will not tolerate
anyone infringing upon these rights without us taking action. If any
person or organization wants the right to market our intellectual property,
they must come to us to discuss a license or endorsement agreement. If they
don't, they may find themselves in court, said George Grace, national
president
of Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, Inc. To be fair, competition has to be based on
a
level playing field - companies must compete on the basis of originality and
according to the laws of this country. All we ask is that Converse play by
these rules and stop infringing our rights."

The Council of Presidents is comprised of the heads of the nine
predominately African-American fraternities and sororities, which includes
Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc., Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc., Kappa
Alpha
Psi Fraternity, Inc., Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, Inc., Delta Sigma Theta
Sorority, Inc., Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity, Inc., Zeta Phi Beta Sorority,
Inc., Sigma
Gamma Rho Sorority, Inc., and Iota Phi Theta Fraternity Inc. The Council of
Presidents represents the interests of the hundreds of thousands of its
members, who are in fields such as medicine, law, professional sports,
bipartisan
elective offices, accounting, engineering, aviation, finance and banking,
print
and broadcast media, entertainment, sales, law enforcement, firefighting,
communications, teaching, telecommunications, data processing, human
resources,
social work, etc.

The Council of Presidents collaborates on matters upon which the National
Pan
Hellenic Council organizations share a common interest. The nine NPHC member
organizations each have hundreds of chapters on college campuses and alumni
chapters in cities across the world and are actively involved in programs
that
enrich the educational and economic lives of African-Americans.

-Intellectual property litigation attorneys Aubrey "Nick" Pittman of Dallas,
Texas (214-459-3454) and John S. Kendall of Chicago, Illinois
(312-857-1997) represent the fraternities and sororities in the lawsuit.

Contact:
Helen J. Owens, Chair
Council of Presidents
8800 South Stony Island Avenue
Chicago, IL 60617
773-873-9000 >>

[AKA2D '91]

Appeals Court Reinstates Black Fraternities and Sororities Case against Converse
DALLAS--(BUSINESS WIRE)--April 17, 2006--In a major victory for the NPHC's African-American Fraternities and Sororities, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals panel agreed unanimously to reinstate a landmark trademark infringement and trademark dilution lawsuit filed by The Pittman Law Firm, P.C. and Davis and Kendall, P.C. on behalf of Alpha Kappa Alpha and Delta Sigma Theta Sororities and Alpha Phi Alpha, Kappa Alpha Psi, Omega Psi Phi, and Phi Beta Sigma Fraternities.


The original case arose out of a complaint filed on December 11, 2003, in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Texas, Dallas Division, on behalf of six predominantly African-American fraternities and sororities against Converse, a manufacturer of sneakers and basketball shoes, alleging federal and state claims of trademark and trade dress infringement, as well as unfair competition. The sororities and fraternities own a series of trademarks and trade dress, some of which contain the founding year(s), colors and identification of the plaintiffs. According to the complaint, Converse produced and marketed a line of athletic shoes called the GREEKPAK Weapon basketball shoe that features a two-color combination associated with one of the organizations and a small embroidered date near the heal of the shoe that corresponds to the founding year of that same organization. The district court granted Converse's motion to dismiss on January 12, 2005.

However, in an opinion just written by the Chief and Presiding Justice of Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals, the Court, citing to the "detailed description of the claimed marks or dress in the plaintiff's complaint," ruled that "the district court's conclusion (to dismiss the case) is difficult to square with the excerpts from the complaint." In finding that the petition clearly demonstrated the required elements for trademark and trade dress infringement, trademark dilution and unfair competition, the high court ruled that the case should not have been dismissed and ordered that it be sent back immediately to the District Court. Converse was also ordered to pay the court costs and filing fees for losing the appeal.

Aubrey "Nick" Pittman, one of the counsel for the Fraternities and Sororities, said, "This represents a major victory for these organizations. Converse flagrantly infringed these trademarks and tried to use its corporate muscle to make money through unfair competition by using the protected property of these groups. Apparently, Converse assumed that it could take rights that did not belong to it without ramifications. It underestimated the fight in these organizations. The court's opinion essentially guarantees these organizations that they will have an opportunity to present Converse's brazen actions to a jury. This opinion will send a strong statement that these groups will not allow anyone to infringe upon their rights and this strong ruling from the appeals court will positively change the dynamics of protection of these organizations' intellectual property rights."



http://home.businesswire.com/portal/...55&newsLang=en

[ladygreek]

Wow, I wondered what had happened with this.

[GoldenGlow2000]

All I can truly say is WOW!!! I would love to see what those shoes ended up looking like!

[Virtual Violet]

I inadvertently started another thread in DST Avenue... I'm curious to know why the remaining NPHC orgs didn't join the lawsuit.

{Edited to add}

I remember seeing a picture of the shoes on GC when the first came out. I don't know what thread that was.

[StarFish106]

Deal may lead to joint marketing agreement
By Ann Brown



January 17, 2007 -- A three-year battle over trademark infringement and deceptive trade practices between athletic shoe and apparel maker Converse Inc. and four black fraternities and two black sororities is finally coming to a close.

In 2003, sororities Alpha Kappa Alpha and Delta Sigma Theta and fraternities Alpha Phi Alpha, Kappa Alpha Psi, Omega Psi Phi, and Phi Beta Sigma, filed the suit in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Texas, Dallas Division alleging that the Nike Inc.-owned sports apparel company manufactured, marketed, and sold sneakers called GREEKPAK that contained "the identical founding year and organizational colors" of the fraternal associations.


Converse, which began advertising the GREEKPAK line in fall 2003, argued in court papers that the colors and founding years, when used together, were not trademarked by the organizations.
Under the settlement, Converse acknowledges that the fraternities and sororities have exclusive rights to the marks, according to a report in the Dallas Morning News.

"The lawsuit had to work its way through the legal system," says Sam Hamilton, chairman of the organizations' Council of Presidents and president of Kappa Alpha Psi.

"We are in the final stages of having everyone sign off," Hamilton says.
The groups will negotiate a licensing agreement with Converse, according to the Morning News. Converse spokeswoman Cheryl Calegari, said she can’t comment on the settlement until it’s finalized.

A deal to market products in conjunction with the organizations might not be so profitable for Converse, according to Lawrence Ross, a branding strategist with Minneapolis-based consumer trend research company Iconoculture.

"In order the deal to be cost effective for Converse, since they will be sharing the revenue, would be to mass market the shoes," says Ross who is also author of The Divine Nine: The History of African American Fraternities and Sororities and a member of Alpha Phi Alpha. "But I would think that this might upset the members of the organizations to see the general public wearing their colors."

But says Ross, "One way to approach it would be to make the shoes exclusive or one-offs. They don’t want to flood the market and devalue the marks. Then they could move into other apparel with the groups, and I would think for Converse the move after this would be to deal with the HBCUs themselves and produce product, such as a Howard sneaker."
The fraternities and sororities are optimistic. "We could see developing the relationship further," Hamilton says. When the first product does roll out, according to Hamilton, the revenue generated would go to maintaining the organizations and to scholarships. "Black fraternities and sororities carry a lot prestige among young black men and women," says Ross. "But we haven’t taken advantage of the cache of our trademarks. With organizations actively looking for revenue streams for their causes it will be interesting to see how the Converse deal plays out."

[TonyB06]

As I recall, the shoes were ugly as hayle to begin with.

Converse, what were you thinking? Who was going to wear shoes that were an amalgamation of everyone's colors, anyway? Was the market of non-Greeks interested in these shoes that large? Converse's legal claim (while it may be technically true) sounds "shady."

So, no, Converse yall need to throw this on the bad-idea pile with "New Coke" and "CopRock."

[DSTCHAOS]

Originally Posted by TonyB06

As I recall, the shoes were ugly as hayle to begin with.

Converse, what were you thinking? Who was going to wear shoes that were an amalgamation of everyone's colors, anyway? Was the market of non-Greeks interested in these shoes that large? Converse's legal claim (while it may be technically true) sounds "shady."

So, no, Converse yall need to throw this on the bad-idea pile with "New Coke" and "CopRock."

They were ugly but ugly clothes are worn everyday because they are "trendy." Look at those stupid, colorful ass Bape hoodies that people are spending tons of money on and/or wearing knock offs of.

We were always taught "just because it's made in your org's colors doesn't mean it's cute or you should rock it." Not everyone was taught that so, yes, folks would've worn them and in fact were wearing similar shoes.

[lovelyivy84]

Originally Posted by DSTCHAOS

They were ugly but ugly clothes are worn everyday because they are "trendy." Look at those stupid, colorful ass Bape hoodies that people are spending tons of money on and/or wearing knock offs of.

We were always taught "just because it's made in your org's colors doesn't mean it's cute or you should rock it." Not everyone was taught that so, yes, folks would've worn them and in fact were wearing similar shoes.

Yeah... I know we've all seen the BGLO sneakers, right? Whoo boy those are some...colorful shoes that people have obviously chosen to buy and wear, since they continue to make them.

[jitterbug13]

I wasn't greek when the Converse shoes were out, but I remember the AKA shoes being cute and the Omega ones looking like the shoes that Magic Johnson wore when he played with the Lakers. The other ones looked like regular shoes. But I do admit those shoes were WAY BETTER LOOKING than the shoes the fraternities and sororities do approve of. Some of them are fugly (and I meant to say it like that).

Perfect example (even thought I don't know if the Alphas approved this): www.hhworld.com

[pinkies up]

I don't wear my letters on my feet. I'm just sayin'.

[OOhsoflyDELTA#9]

^^^^^ya heard!!!! or across the back off my ass like on those lil cheerleading shorts...