Chanel Letters

[Drolefille]

Originally Posted by Aquastar

If a vendor puts patterned letters on a sweatshirt requested by a customer it is the VENDOR'S responsibility to cover all bases related to copyrights. If they advertise a pattern and seem legit, it is assumed they have the right to use it.

If they did not have the right to use the pattern the worse that would happen to the customer is they might be asked to return the letters. Any other issues are the VENDOR'S problem for advertising something they did not have the right to sell.

I'm speaking from personal experience, I have seen it happen.

My only hypothetical is lets say the vendor doesn't use any "samples" showing Kappa Kappa Gamma or Sigma Kappa or whatever. They just say "sweatshirts with and sort of letters on them" Are they required to be a Greek vendor if the customer orders a Sigma and a Kappa?

[Aquastar]

Originally Posted by Drolefille

My only hypothetical is lets say the vendor doesn't use any "samples" showing Kappa Kappa Gamma or Sigma Kappa or whatever. They just say "sweatshirts with and sort of letters on them" Are they required to be a Greek vendor if the customer orders a Sigma and a Kappa?

Taken from SK website
"What are licensed vendors?
Vendors who have agreed to work with Sigma Kappa Sorority to ensure the proper use of our trademarks and to sell quality merchandise at reasonable prices. Many licensed vendors provide a royalty payment to the national organization in support of our educational programs and services. "

Like with the designer letters, SK owns trademarks and such for our organization and may receive royalties from the use of them. That and trying to ensure things that have the Sigma Kappa logos/letters on them are classy and portray a positive image of our sorority are the reasons to use licensed vendors.

[Drolefille]

Originally Posted by Aquastar

Taken from SK website
"What are licensed vendors?
Vendors who have agreed to work with Sigma Kappa Sorority to ensure the proper use of our trademarks and to sell quality merchandise at reasonable prices. Many licensed vendors provide a royalty payment to the national organization in support of our educational programs and services. "

Like with the designer letters, SK owns trademarks and such for our organization and may receive royalties from the use of them. That and trying to ensure things that have the Sigma Kappa logos/letters on them are classy and portray a positive image of our sorority are the reasons to use licensed vendors.

I think you're missing the point of my post. As long as they do not advertise using a Greek org's letters, can a vendor "get in trouble" for filling a customer's order? Like if I go to the local department store, family owned, that does embroidery, and ask for my letters on a jacket. Are they actually doing something "wrong" by filling that order?

The rest of it is irrelevant to my question and to the spam post since that site was indeed a licensed vendor.

[Aquastar]

Originally Posted by Drolefille

The rest of it is irrelevant to my question and to the spam post since that site was indeed a licensed vendor.

First, I'm sorry I misunderstood you but I don't believe my comment was "irrelevant" to the topic at hand.


As for your restated question, no a company isn't going to be sued for filling an order the customer requests for a Sigma Kappa letter shirt. That doesn't mean they wont get in trouble for filling an order to make fake Nike swish shirts. Its dependent on copyrights and although SK nationally has royalties to the organization, I don't believe anyone has the ability to copyright two greek letters and say they can never be used together without the permission of SKNHQ.

[OneHeartOneWay]

Based on my conversations with Julia, our national legal counsel, we would not want any chapter or individual member ordering anything made from a non-licensed vendor, be the vendor a national corporation or local department store. It all has to do with our “company” (the sorority) protecting our letters, symbols, insignia, etc. If we don’t take precautions to ensure they are being used correctly and with the sorority’s permission, as another poster pointed out, then we will not have legal action if an individual or another organization began using them as their own. Whether or not the company would get sued shouldn’t be the point; rather, our organization has asked all sisters to follow a protocol in an effort to ensure the integrity of our letters. Every collegiate chapter, for example, is supposed to get every vendor they use to go through the formal process, even if it is a sister’s parents’ screenprinting shop for formal shirts, for example. The process of becoming a licensed vendor is actually very easy and can be completed in a day or two, from what I understand. Now, does this mean this is actually happening, or will every completely happen, no. But by spreading the word and abiding by the policy, we can help ensure only women in our mystic bond can use our letters!

I guess what I'm trying to say that the policy is in place for sisters to follow, not the vendors. Does that make sense?

[BetteDavisEyes]

Originally Posted by OneHeartOneWay

Based on my conversations with Julia, our national legal counsel, we would not want any chapter or individual member ordering anything made from a non-licensed vendor, be the vendor a national corporation or local department store. It all has to do with our “company” (the sorority) protecting our letters, symbols, insignia, etc.

Julia is awesome. She really is.

My simple solution if I want something Greek is to either buy my merchandise off of the SK National website links from approved vendors or to go the place where I know they are licensed to sell SK merchandise. Easy. Besides, I'd never walk around in fake Louis Vuitton SK letters. That's just freaking tacky IMO.

[Drolefille]

Originally Posted by OneHeartOneWay

[COLOR=black]

I guess what I'm trying to say that the policy is in place for sisters to follow, not the vendors. Does that make sense?

I understand it, it was just a hypothetical, and if parents, friends, boyfriends, etc. didn't buy letters to it wouldn't be as much of an issue... we could simply tell each other to do it right. (Not that everyone will listen, but eh).

I'm still curious though.