Smack Apparel apparently likes to confuse people.
The Fifth Circuit held last week that a t-shirt maker infringed trademarks of four big-time sports schools in their color schemes.
Smack Apparel slapped sporting garb with the colors of Louisiana State University (purple and gold), the University of Oklahoma (crimson and creme), Ohio State University (scarlet and gray) and the University of Southern California (cardinal and gold). And — fatal mistake — Smack added identifying touches, including "BOUrbon Street or Bust" (Oklahoma) and "2003 College Football National Champions" (LSU).
The district court determined on summary judgment that the universities proved their Lanham Act claims as a matter of law. The Fifth Circuit affirmed. Bd. Supervisors for La. State Univ. Ag. & Mech. College v. Smack Apparel Co., No. 07-30580 (5th Cir. Nov. 25, 2008).
