Sparty pulls a Dave Brandon re: use of logo
Apparently MSU has contacted a small high school in Northern Michigan and asked them to change their logo.
I can see why Sparty would be worried that their sports programs might be confused with those of a high school of 400 students.
https://www.mlive.com/expo/sports/erry-2018/10/a4cfd817aa5394/spartans-will-and-spartans-won.html
October 24th, 2018 at 2:36 PM ^
a picture of a sex offender would really tie them in with MSU.
chumps.
October 24th, 2018 at 6:54 PM ^
....or a burning couch!
October 24th, 2018 at 2:36 PM ^
They aren’t the only ones using it, believe me. I played against a team in junior high football that had identical uniforms as them and the logo. The Bemis Spartans.
Miami has to send my high school a cease and desist because we used the U.
Cool starry bra
October 24th, 2018 at 2:41 PM ^
DePaul Catholic Spartans, alma mater of Mike Dwumfour and Kareem Walker, too.
October 24th, 2018 at 3:35 PM ^
Cooler story. I played for Warren Woods Middle School and we wore replica Michigan uniforms; including winged helmets. The cool thing was that we sent our helmets to michigan and they painted them for us. The brand wasn’t as big of a thing I guess in the late 90’s early 2000’s.
I now am the varsity coach for the high school, and the middle school just wears solid blue helmets. No idea if it was budget reasons or if they were told to stop.
October 24th, 2018 at 3:57 PM ^
You’re Warren Woods Tower HC? My parents alma mater.
October 24th, 2018 at 4:05 PM ^
Defensive Coordinator. My Alma mater as well. Got a pretty damn good education when I look back. Helped prepare me for Ann Arbor greatly
October 24th, 2018 at 4:39 PM ^
Nice, Hoover & 11 mile in the house
October 24th, 2018 at 6:25 PM ^
The team I coach played you guys last week. Good luck in the playoffs, hope your QB is healthy.
October 24th, 2018 at 7:43 PM ^
Small world isn’t it. Good game last week. You guys came out firing early. RB ran like a man all night. Also, you guys did a number to our special teams. Most impressive special teams I’ve seen in a couple seasons. I obviously wanted the perfect regular season, but it wasn’t terrible to see how happy your kids and fans were to end the season.
QB is good to go. Have had a good practice this week. Finally healthy again on both sides of the ball. Garden City runs the inside trap real well. If we can stop that, we will be in good shape.
October 24th, 2018 at 2:36 PM ^
They are legally required to ask anyone copying their logo or they will lose rights to it. This is a non issue.
October 24th, 2018 at 2:49 PM ^
I believe you and this is mentioned in the article, but many high schools copy local colleges on their mascot, logo, fightsong etc. Why is this happening here and now?
October 24th, 2018 at 3:18 PM ^
I don't believe it is just now happening. It's being going on for a long time, but it only makes the papers when the local school complains about it. And nowadays anything that makes a local paper hits the internet.
October 24th, 2018 at 4:06 PM ^
I have some extended family in a small town in southwest Michigan called Hamilton. The high school in that town is the Hamilton Hawkeyes, and they used the tigerhawk logo. I remember maybe about 15 years ago some of my cousins were involved in helping to design a new logo because they had received a cease and desist letter from Iowa. So correct, this is not new.
October 24th, 2018 at 5:55 PM ^
I went to Allendale in the 90s. We had the Hawkeye logo as well and were issued the same order.
October 24th, 2018 at 2:53 PM ^
Yes, this. I don't blame people for going bonkers over these stories over and over because it's a not really obvious. But for anyone who's interested, google "trademark naked license."
October 24th, 2018 at 3:48 PM ^
i'm at work and i'm not googling anything "naked."
October 24th, 2018 at 4:28 PM ^
I always wondered if it was a small enough school that the team might just make them sign a licensing agreement for a dollar. That way the high school gets to keep its logo and the university doesn't lose its trademark
October 24th, 2018 at 2:37 PM ^
Pinconning has to deal with enough problems. This shouldn't be one of them.
October 24th, 2018 at 2:39 PM ^
Also, the caption on the pic at the top of the article calls Joe Bachie, a white, starting LB for MSU, Casey Hughes, a black, reserve DB for Michigan.
Way to journalism, MLive!
October 24th, 2018 at 4:34 PM ^
I came here to point that out. You are already on it. Good work.
October 24th, 2018 at 2:54 PM ^
I would really appreciate it if everyone on the planet didn't use that logo.
October 24th, 2018 at 2:54 PM ^
On this note I wish Slippery Rock would come up with a better logo. They could do so much more than just have a block S.
October 24th, 2018 at 2:56 PM ^
This is standard, required diligence for defending a trademark.
October 24th, 2018 at 2:57 PM ^
Pinconning put up 35 points in their last game. Maybe MSU should be asking them for some pointers instead of stressing about the logo.
October 24th, 2018 at 3:01 PM ^
They make cheese in Pinconning. They have a shell gas station at mile marker 183 off I-75 that has a McDonald's inside. That is all there is to know about Pinconning.
October 24th, 2018 at 4:02 PM ^
But you're forgetting about Northwoods Wholesale!
October 24th, 2018 at 4:19 PM ^
Sell Frankenmuth Chicken there too I believe...
October 24th, 2018 at 3:01 PM ^
The funny thing is their "new" logo is still a copy. They slightly tweaked Nike's proposed logo for MSU from way back in 2010. MSU ended up never using it after fans revolted.
Current MSU logo / Nike logo
MSU logo / New Pinconning logo
October 24th, 2018 at 5:15 PM ^
What's always been funny to me is the single most unique and prideful characteristic of the Spartans of ancient Greece is that they wore red to hide when they were bleeding. MSU decides not to embrace the single biggest characteristic of their namesake which is typical.
October 24th, 2018 at 3:02 PM ^
Pinconning in Northern Michigan? That's a fairly expansive definition of Northern.
October 24th, 2018 at 3:08 PM ^
Anything north of the Zilwaukee bridge is northern Michigan.
You must be from Ohio.
October 24th, 2018 at 3:21 PM ^
Exactly. Once you've crossed that bridge, you're Up North!
October 24th, 2018 at 3:41 PM ^
As a Yooper, I find troll geographical designations to be fundamentally flawed. I wouldn't call anything south of Petoskey "Northern Michigan".
October 24th, 2018 at 4:03 PM ^
Wow, you're a Yooper? How did you find an Internet connection? Are you mining gypsum RIGHT NOW as we speak??? :-D
October 24th, 2018 at 4:05 PM ^
My thoughts exactly. But whatever keeps more people out of the true northern Michigan, the better.
Just cross the Mighty Zilwaukee bridge everyone, them turn around. Nothing to see up here.
October 24th, 2018 at 7:31 PM ^
Oh come on..."Northern" includes, at least down to the Traverse City area. In fact, the topography begins changing significantly much farther south than that.
October 24th, 2018 at 3:03 PM ^
Imagine if the Wolverines went after every team that uses a variation of the winged helmet.
October 24th, 2018 at 3:43 PM ^
We couldn’t. We didn’t invent it and never had any exclusive rights to it.
October 24th, 2018 at 3:59 PM ^
The assholes in Traverse City who are behind the pointless lifestyle brand M-22 didn't invent their logo either, but they were able to trademark it.
https://www.mlive.com/news/grand-rapids/index.ssf/2017/04/m-22_northern_michigan_icons_t.html
October 25th, 2018 at 12:48 AM ^
Every single town of more than 10,000 people has a high school football team with the winged helmet. Even in Ohio this is true. It's everywhere.
October 24th, 2018 at 3:08 PM ^
To be fair, this happened to the school I coached at. The university that informed us of the request was very amiable and explained that they were advised by their legal counsel that they had to request we change or it could somehow effect their trademark.
I have no legal background... maybe an mgo atty can answer this more efficiently
October 24th, 2018 at 4:22 PM ^
I logged in just to let you know how perfect this was.
October 24th, 2018 at 3:23 PM ^
I have no idea how it would work, but it would be a total boss move If Warde could call them up and say, "If you are willing to become the Wolverines, we have some sweet branding rights y'all could borrow."
October 24th, 2018 at 3:23 PM ^
I went to a small high school which sadly uses the Spartan fight song and logo. I think I will beat MSU to the hypothetical punch and write a letter to the school board advising it would be a good time to switch both in light of MSU’s actions.
October 24th, 2018 at 3:51 PM ^
My high school uses a winged helmet but the fight song is sparty. Very creative.