STORY TOOLS

• E-mail story
• Comments
• iPod friendly
• Printer friendly

More Other Sports

• Men's golf team finishes third
• Sporting News ranks Knoxville at No. 29 for Best Sports Cities
• Vols tied for lead at Wolf Pack Classic

Share and Enjoy [?]

Get Reprints

Want to use this article? Click here for options!

The battle brewing between the University of Tennessee and Action Sports Media over use of university trademarks boiled over into federal court last week when UT filed suit against the Alcoa company.

The university accuses the company of using several of UT's "well-known" trademarks in connection with the sale of products or services, authorizing other parties to do the same and making "false and misleading statements" in the advertising and promotion of its "Big Orange Army," a business and fan club.

UT alleges several counts of trademark infringement and unfair competition under federal and state laws by Action Sports Media in the lawsuit, filed Feb. 12 in U.S. District Court in Knoxville.

"We were very disappointed that the university chose to file suit against the Big Orange Army instead of sitting down with us to resolve any differences," stated Gordon Whitener, president and chief executive officer of Action Sports Media, in a prepared statement.

UT is seeking an unspecified amount of damages, recovery of company profits, attorney fees and injunctive relief. They've also asked for a jury trial.

The university claims that the company has been using its trademarks and the Big Orange Army trademarks in connection with promotion of UT athletic teams since 2002. The suit names several defendants, including company officers, collectively doing business as "Big Orange Army."

The Big Orange Army's "Fort Neyland" initiative last year spurred the university to make the rift between the company and UT public, according to reports from October.

Mike Hamilton, UT's athletic director, sent a letter to fans in October telling them that UT didn't support the initiative and that the Big Orange Army fan club wasn't sanctioned or endorsed by UT. The university claimed the company and fan club were using its trademarks improperly to line up corporate sponsors, a role belonging by contract to a competitor of Action Sports Media.

The Big Orange Army is a fan-based organization that provides "support for UT athletics," according to Whitener. He stated that the Big Orange Army entered in a trademark agreement with UT in January 2006 for exclusive rights to company names such as "Big Orange Army" and "Little Orange Army" and nonexclusive rights to use all of the trademarks in UT's trademark portfolio administered by the Collegiate Licensing Co.

He stated they've used the trademarks on apparel and other merchandise and paid royalties to CLC, a portion of which are paid to UT. Whitener noted that CLC has approved dozens of uses of the trademarks for his company.

But Action Sports Media hasn't entered into a standard license agreement with CLC, a step necessary for granting an exclusive license, according to UT.

"Despite the fact that none of the defendants have entered into the university's standard license agreement and despite the fact that they have repeatedly failed to comply with the royalty and quality control terms of said license, defendants nevertheless have continued to make unlicensed and unauthorized use of" UT's trademarks and the Big Orange Army trademarks, the university alleged.

Whitener addressed the license in his prepared statement.

"The bottom line is that we have a difference of opinion with the university in regard to the scope of the license, and we have tried to sit down with the athletic department representatives since the SEC Championship in December to work out those differences," he stated.

Whitener said the university refused to meet with the company.

"It's their way of trying to leverage us into giving up some of our rights under the trademark license," Whitener said. "We intend to vigorously defend our position."

Darren Dunlap may be reached at 865-342-6334.

© 2008, Knoxville News Sentinel Co.