A 13-year trademark battle ended Monday, as the U.S. Supreme Court let stand a ruling that the interlocking letters in the "SC" logo belong to the University of Southern California, not the University of South Carolina. The Los Angeles Times reports that the high court turned down an appeal from USC in Columbia, S.C., which since 1997 has sought to register its own interlocking "SC" logo for the sale of sports merchandise. USC in Los Angeles objected, and a special Trademark Trial and Appeal Board considered the evidence. It concluded that although "real fans" would not be fooled, casual fans might be confused as to whether the sportswear came from the West Coast or the East Coast school, the paper said. Lawyers from South Carolina disputed the board's conclusion, but a federal circuit court upheld it in January, and the Supreme Court said it would not hear an appeal in USC v. USC.
"We are pleased the Supreme Court did the right thing and ended this," Michael Adler, a Los Angeles lawyer for USC said. "We'd rather beat them on the football field than fight them in litigation, but if they won this, they could have used this [logo] on any merchandise."
