Moonshine Maker Loses ‘Kentucky’ in Legal Battle With University; New York Times, 6/23/16

Sheryl Gay Stolberg, New York Times; Moonshine Maker Loses ‘Kentucky’ in Legal Battle With University:

"The university — whose Wildcats basketball team brings in millions of dollars in revenue each year — says it does; in 1997, it trademarked the word “Kentucky” for use on clothing. When Mr. Fultz opened shop last October in his home city, Whitesburg, and tried to trademark his business name, the university tried to block him from doing so for apparel. Officials said they mostly hoped to open negotiations with Mr. Fultz to keep him from marketing “Kentucky Mist Moonshine” T-shirts in the school’s signature colors of royal blue and white.

Instead, Mr. Fultz filed suit. But on Thursday, a federal court in Lexington sided with the university and dismissed his case.

In a 32-page ruling, Judge Danny C. Reeves of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Kentucky accepted the university’s arguments that it was immune from being sued, and that Kentucky Mist had no standing to bring the case."

(Legal) Moonshiner and University Battle Over Rights to ‘Kentucky’; New York Times, 4/9/16

Sheryl Gay Stolberg, New York Times; (Legal) Moonshiner and University Battle Over Rights to ‘Kentucky’ :

"Mr. Fultz also tried to trademark his business name: Kentucky Mist Moonshine. And that, sports lovers, is how a moonshine maker wound up suing the University of Kentucky — the basketball behemoth exalted by its “Big Blue Nation” of fans — in federal court over a fundamental question: Who owns the rights to the name of the state?

The university says it does; it wants to block Mr. Fultz from trademarking “Kentucky Mist Moonshine” for T-shirts, hats and other apparel (though not his moonshine) sold in his distillery gift shop. It registered the word “Kentucky” with the United States Patent and Trademark Office for clothing in 1997, 19 years ago...

University athletic departments around the nation have grown increasingly aggressive about defending what they see as their intellectual property; in 2006, the University of Alabama sued an artist who painted football scenes, asking a federal judge to bar him from using the school’s “famous crimson and white color scheme.”

And while a number of public universities, in places like Georgia, Michigan and Ohio, also own rights to their state names, several experts in patent and trademark law predict Mr. Fultz — who is already selling T-shirts in the gift shop — will get his trademark in the end."