Arizona State Asks High School to Stop Using Similar Trademark

The sports teams from Culpeper County High School (CCHS), a high school in Virginia, have long been known as the Blue Devils and have used the same Blue Devil logo for over a decade. However, Arizona State University (ASU) alleges that the logo is confusingly similar to ASU's Sun Devil logo.

Fernando Morales, the trademark licensing manager of ASU, recently asked CCHS to stop using the Blue Devil logo, which is virtually the same as the Sun Devil logo except for the blue color. ASU's main concern, according to Morales, is to guard against inferior products and trademark dilution. Under current trademark law, the use of a famous trademark in a way that would lessen its uniqueness is forbidden.

According to Morales, ASU officials uncover approximately 50 to 200 potentially infringing trademark uses each year. Although CCHS still uses the Blue Devil logo on staff shirts and identification badges, the school has pulled the logo from its website.