Daily details the University's C&D letter to retailers
link?
link: http://www.michigandaily.com/content/athletic-department-cites-vendors-…
basically the letter says that the university issued a C&D in order to prevent any harm the sale of a player's likeness could have on his eligibility.
September 22nd, 2010 at 4:49 PM ^
is there has been shirts of a player's likeness that has been selling for years. so why now? I assume that it has to do with NCAA scrunity because of "practice-gate".
September 22nd, 2010 at 5:07 PM ^
that, and the sudden rise in popularity of a certain player outside of the immediate fanbase would no doubt draw attention to the issue. I think it is hilarious and sad though that it took Compliance about as long to figure this out as practice/QC-gate.
September 22nd, 2010 at 6:22 PM ^
Underground Printing, which carries them, bought Moe's and became an officially licensed dealer of Michigan wear. So now the University is a partner of those selling that "questionable" gear. If I sell something out of my trunk, the U can say "we didn't know anything about it." or couldn't do anything about it. Where, if say, M-Den starts selling "Denard" shirts, it's hard for the school to say they didn't know anything about it. They're profiting off it.
September 22nd, 2010 at 4:53 PM ^
“Please be aware that NCAA rules do not permit any currently enrolled student-athlete’s name or likeness to be utilized in conjunction with the sale of a commercial product when the student-athlete in question has eligibility remaining,” Van Horn wrote. “Such use is classified by the NCAA as non-permissible promotional activity, and it can jeopardize the eligibility of the involved student-athlete."
September 22nd, 2010 at 5:36 PM ^
I like it. I propose an "everyone murders" shirt. Let's do it.
September 22nd, 2010 at 5:38 PM ^
I propose an "Reggie Bush...Let's give him a break."
September 22nd, 2010 at 10:45 PM ^
...but I don't need a t-shirt of anything remotely connected to OSU. Screw those guys.
September 22nd, 2010 at 4:55 PM ^
i also assume the "Why there is mascot in Ann Arbor" shirt is a trademark issue dealing with mascots from other universities.
September 22nd, 2010 at 4:56 PM ^
I know it's lame, and the shirts were awesome, but isn't it better to err on the side of caution? Especially when Michigan is under a close eye because of practice-gate and their current national coverage, they obviously know something that we don't about the rules for this. Can you even imagine if something happened to Denard because of a shirt?
September 22nd, 2010 at 5:02 PM ^
I know this was covered, but if the "Shoelace" shirt was redone to no include any name or initial reference to Robinson, why can't that be sold? Anyone written to the Athletic Department to specifically ask about that shirt or the HE16MAN shirt? Numbers are allowed on shirts. Words are allowed on shirts. Allulsion to someone isn't a violation of the NCAA guidelines. AND I WANT MY HE16MAN SHIRT!
September 22nd, 2010 at 5:32 PM ^
Its really a gray area. A shirt with a number or a shirt that says "shoelace" is probably okay, but to combine them in one shirt is approaching the dark gray area of unlawful. In addition, there is the trademark infringement issue lingering in the background if a school sees a ton of money being lost to some third party vendor that has not been approved by the school. Michigan is extremely protective of its trademarks. Not that this was the case here, but its always an underlying consideration when sales of merchandise is concerned.
September 22nd, 2010 at 10:36 PM ^
has the trademark and won a lawsuit regarding very similar shirts:
"I'm not a trademark lawyer, but looked up a case where Smack Apparel was selling shirts with "HEI5MAN", "HE15MAN" and "HE.IS.the.MAN" on them. The trust sued and all were found to infringe the trust's trademark. At the same time, Reebok was licensed by the trust to pimp Heisman candidate t-shirts.
My guess is that the HE16MAN shirts went away because Underground Printing was concerned about trademark infringement as well as potential NCAA violations. I will cherish - and wear with pride - my HE16MAN shirt until UP asks me to stop. Or the NCAA. Or the University. Or Denard."
September 22nd, 2010 at 5:36 PM ^
Why did you take all the time to post that?
September 22nd, 2010 at 5:08 PM ^
So why is the university, or all of them for that matter, license particular jersey numbers?
Anyone notice that most of the jerseys on the rack at the M-Den are #16?
September 22nd, 2010 at 5:13 PM ^
This is why you will not find any officially licensed college jersey with a name on the back. A "generic" jersey with just a number does not violate the NCAA regulation.
September 22nd, 2010 at 5:50 PM ^
This is part of the stupidity of these laws. EVERYONE knows that a #16 jersey is on all the rack is b/c of Denard, but if asked, the University could say, "Well, maybe that person really loved John Navarre - it doesn't have a name on the back does it?" And technically, U of M would be correct. It's just a "generic" jersey. If it just so happens thousands of those are flying of the M-Den shelves b/c of a certain, shifty QB, well that's just a bonus.
September 23rd, 2010 at 9:26 AM ^
September 23rd, 2010 at 9:45 AM ^
It's obviously a reference to the Heisman, which is trademarked. See the article below, where the Heisman Trust successfully won a permanent injunction against a company marketing variations on "Heisman", including Heistman, HE15MAN, and HE.IS.the.MAN.
September 23rd, 2010 at 4:16 PM ^
September 22nd, 2010 at 6:53 PM ^
Did MGoblue Shop close down? I remember they had massive sales earlier this year.
So if I want a jersey what are my options? Moe's and M-Den, and that's it? I'd think Walmart or Meijer might be options, but I don't see anything on their website, and I don't live in MI anymore so I can't just pop in.
September 22nd, 2010 at 7:45 PM ^
I'm sure part of it is paranoia over the practice-gate stuff, but one of the major reasons that the NCAA listed for taking the hammer to USC is becuase (paraphrasing) "big-time players require big-time compliance' i.e. you want a school w/ Reggie Bush, Matt Leinhart, etc, then you better play close attention to what these fellas are doing. So UofM is being proactive, now that we have a hype worthy player that people are paying attention i.e. Shoelace.
No offense to BG, but people just weren't paying that much attention to him - except the opposing schools. Denard is on every espn highlight reel, articles every day, etc.
At least that is my guess about why all of a sudden they are policing these things.
EDIT: I'm not implying Denard is doing anything wrong, but if UoM did nothing about the shirts, then they would be doing something wrong. Now they can say, see we were paying attention to the most minor violations.
September 22nd, 2010 at 7:55 PM ^
I am sorry, but this has little to do with concern for a player. It is all about controling the money. If you buy a "Shoelace" shirt, maybe you don't buy the $160 "anonymus" jersey. Mchigan, like all other schools, is saying that it is the only one who can exploit, errr, profit off of players. And why is that? Because the NCAA said so, that's why. Any who, I wonder, makes up the NCAA? It couldn't be those same schools, could it?
Look, I get trade marks and brands. i have no problem with Michigan saying you can't use the block M. But the word "shoelace"???? Come on, man!
Also, don't think for one second that the M Den and the (also out-of-state) company that owns Michigan Book and Supply aren't lurking in the background here. They would love to drive Moe's and Underground out of business and are not above using leverage with the School to get it done.
September 22nd, 2010 at 10:00 PM ^
I am still waiting for My Other Michigan Shirt was Ceased and Desisted shirt. Hope it comes soon.