Tiffany Camhi , Oregon Public Broadcasting; Columbia Sportswear sees double, sues Columbia University in trademark spat
"Columbia Sportswear’s lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court Wednesday and first reported by Willamette Week, alleges the university knowingly broke an agreement with the retailer — a deal that outlines specific limitations over how the centuries-old institution can use the word “Columbia” on its own apparel.
The company has held a federally registered trademark of the text “Columbia” for many of its outdoor clothing products since 1996.
In the contract, the two parties agreed that the university could emblazon “Columbia” on its merchandise as long as the word was accompanied by a recognizable school insignia, the word “university,” the name of an academic department or the founding year of the institution: 1754. In exchange, the outdoor company would not sue the university.
The suit says the retailer and university entered this agreement in June 2023. In the complaint, lawyers with the outerwear company say the school breached the agreement a year later."
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