Northwestern University, Duke University and the University of California (UCLA) are among 25 US educational institutions to have sued online retailer GearLaunch for trademark infringement.
The claim was filed on April 24, at the US District Court for the Northern District of California, San Francisco Division. It alleged that GearLaunch an e-commerce website that serves as “a one-stop shop” for businesses looking to design and sell unlicensed, unauthorised apparel bearing the universities’ trademarks and trade dress. Each of the universities has a licensing programme but, according to the claimants, GearLaunch did not ask to license the marks. The infringing goods sold by GearLaunch are allegedly similar to and compete with goods sold by the universities’ official licensees, and are sold through identical and overlapping channels of trade.

Source: WIPR