Trademark

[Catholic]

I received a big bag of clothing from an individual leaving a job at a school. Most of the articles contain the school’s logo, which resembles a college team’s logo and may be infringing on the college’s trademarked design. Cases like this with schools arise from time to time, although most offenders are unaware of the offense. Would it be more appropriate to throw the clothing away (which would be wasteful), or give it to a donation center (which may spread the unfair use of the design)?

 

[vern_humphrey]

I received a big bag of clothing from an individual leaving a job at a school. Most of the articles contain the school’s logo, which resembles a college team’s logo and may be infringing on the college’s trademarked design. Cases like this with schools arise from time to time, although most offenders are unaware of the offense. Would it be more appropriate to throw the clothing away (which would be wasteful), or give it to a donation center (which may spread the unfair use of the design)?

If there are people lacking good clothes, it would be wrong to throw them away.

 

[mapleoak]

It would not be infringing upon any trademarks unless the logo was placed on the shirts without permission from the trademark holder. Once on the shirt, it would make no difference who the clothing gets passed on to. I could buy a shirt with ‘Tastee Freeze’ stamped on it and give it away with no wrong doing. If I obtained a shirt and took it upon myself to paint ‘Tastee Freeze’ on it without permission, that could possibly be violating copyright laws. This would likely vary from state to state.

 

[CuriousInIL]

I would donate the clothing unless I was **sure **that it was the result of trademark infringement, in which case the proper thing to do IMO is to destroy the infringing goods.

 

[rwoehmke]

If the clothing came from the school, how can it possibly be a trademark infringement. The school had it put on and anyone in the whole wide world can wear it. If you copied the “badge” and put it on shirts without the school’s permission that would be a whole nother matter and then only if you were selling them.

 

[RandA]

If it is an infringement, it’s not your infringement - it is the school that’s infringing. If the college believes the school logo to be infringing, the college has a claim against the school - not against you or the person who previously worked at the school. If the college has not made any such claim, then I see no problem with you keeping the items or donating them. If the college has made such a claim, and prevailed on it, the school may be required to destroy all such items in its possession. I don’t think any such requirement, however, would reach you - the third-hand receiver of such items.

S

 

[CuriousInIL]

If it is an infringement, it’s not your infringement - it is the school that’s infringing. If the college believes the school logo to be infringing, the college has a claim against the school - not against you or the person who previously worked at the school. If the college has not made any such claim, then I see no problem with you keeping the items or donating them. If the college has made such a claim, and prevailed on it, the school may be required to destroy all such items in its possession. I don’t think any such requirement, however, would reach you - the third-hand receiver of such items.

S

Quite wrong on one point, third parties that sell or otherwise distribute infringing goods are likewise infringing.

 

[otjm]

I would donate the clothing unless I was **sure **that it was the result of trademark infringement, in which case the proper thing to do IMO is to destroy the infringing goods.

Considering that it would be almost impossible to ascertain that, the result would be to throw away any clothing with any identifiable logo on what is more likely an assumption. There is nothing in moral law that would suggest that as necessary, let alone civil law.

The recipient of the clothing did not violate any trademark law; if anyone did, it was the producer of the clothing. However, if one has no notice that a trademark has been infringed upon, one has neither the civil nor the moral duty to inquire.

If one had notice of a violation, one may or may not have a civil duty to not further transmit the goods; but I would have a hard time trying to justify why one would have a moral duty if one was simply donating the clothing; one is gaining nothing by the violation (the original seller and any other commercial seller prior to it being purchased by a consumer had the gain). In short, the consumer (asuming they are innocent at the point of purchase) has made no violation.

 

[didymus]

I received a big bag of clothing from an individual leaving a job at a school. Most of the articles contain the school’s logo, which resembles a college team’s logo and may be infringing on the college’s trademarked design. Cases like this with schools arise from time to time, although most offenders are unaware of the offense. Would it be more appropriate to throw the clothing away (which would be wasteful), or give it to a donation center (which may spread the unfair use of the design)?

I think you are making a leap by assuming that resemblance to a trademarked design equals infringement. It doesn’t. Trademarks protect specific designs – otherwise the Yankees would own the letters NY.

There probably isn’t any problem unless the HS is using the logo to try to pass itself off as the college.