USC Athletics | Court rejects South Carolina's appeal to trademark “SC” logo
South Carolina's bid to trademark the “SC”
logo took a major hit on Monday after the U.S. Supreme Court refused to hear the school's appeal.
The “SC”
logo has long been a staple of the University of Southern California including its athletics program, which has had a trademark for a version of the logo for some time now. USC has been a staunch opponent to the Gamecocks also using the symbol on athletic apparel.
While USC has used the logo for years during which time the university has sold countless dollars worth of “SC”
merchandise and apparel, South Carolina only began using the “SC”
logo on its baseball caps in 1997.
Had the U.S. Supreme Court decided to hear the Gamecocks’ appeal, that court would have decided who really owns the “SC”
logo. By not hearing the appeal, the decision of the lower appellate court controls the issue.
USC had previously beaten South Carolina in January when a three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit upheld a decision of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office that the logo “USC”
was the century-old property of the University of Southern California.
It should be noted that the U.S. Supreme Court only hears about 1-2% of the cases brought to it on appeal each year.
The case is University of South Carolina v. University of Southern California, 09-1270.
