University of Iowa Sends Cease-and-Desist Letter to Political Candidate Over Trademark

Eastern Iowa Democratic congressional candidate Christina Bohannan’s campaign will pull a television ad amid a dispute over alleged misuse of a University of Iowa trademark.

As reported by The Gazette of Cedar Rapids, James Jorgensen, the university's general counsel and vice president for legal affairs, sent Bohannan’s campaign a letter Friday requesting it cease and desist from further use of the UI’s protected marks.

The letter came after an attorney for Iowa Republican U.S. representative Mariannette Miller-Meeks’ campaign alerted Jorgensen’s office to an apparent unauthorized use of a university trademark by Bohannan’s campaign in a recent ad that began airing Oct. 19.

According to Tom Barton of The Gazette, the ad features Bohannan in a black T-shirt with gold, all-capital lettering reading “IOWA” and the phrase “TEAM IOWA” on the back. "The ad shows Bohannan — a UI law professor whose expertise is intellectual property law — running on a track and accusing Miller-Meeks of panicking voters about girls’ sports instead of focusing on tougher problems faced by Iowans," Barton wrote.

Miller-Meeks is seeking a third term representing Southeast Iowa's 1st Congressional District, which includes Iowa City (home to the university's campus), Davenport and rural Southeast Iowa. This year's race represents a rematch between the two candidates.

Kelcey Patrick-Ferree, an attorney representing Christina Bohannan for Congress, replied Monday to Jorgensen’s letter disputing misuse of any registered UI trademark. She wrote the shirt worn by Bohannan in the ad was custom-designed and does not use any trademarks, fonts, colors or styles owned by the UI. Rather, the campaign argues it created an original design of the word “Iowa” to refer to and show pride in the state as a whole; not the UI or the Hawkeyes. Patrick-Ferree added that the Bohannan campaign is in the process of changing ad traffic “per pre-planned media schedules,” and that the TV ad in question is scheduled to be off broadcast and digital platforms at the end of Tuesday.

“I trust that this resolves this matter to the University’s satisfaction and will consider the matter closed,” she wrote.

The letter also complained of selective enforcement, noting the university’s property has been used in campaign material by other Iowa candidates numerous times, including by Miller-Meeks, Barton reported.

"The Republican incumbent recorded a TV ad on the Iowa campus and has used the UI football stadium in campaign materials," he wrote in The Gazette. "She also filmed and disseminated campaign material wearing an official UI shirt with what appears to be the actual Iowa wordmark, and her campaign has been using #FightForIowa — an official hashtag of UI athletics — in her social media posts and lists it in her X profile."

“Mariannette Miller-Meeks’s claims are nothing but another political stunt to distract Iowans from her record of taking over $4 million from the special interests and doing their bidding in Washington,” Bohannan’s campaign said in a statement to The Gazette.