Daily Rant, April 23: Pitt nitwit

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Why do students go to college (I mean, other than to learn at the Ben Roethlisberger School for Post-Graduate Dating Techniques)? Presumably, to become smarter, or at least better educated.

If that’s the case, I don’t think I’ll be shipping the kids off to Pitt.

I saw this story from the Toledo Blade about the University of Pittsburgh asking an Ohio high school to stop using its logo as the high school’s own, going so far to tell the school district to remove the offending logo from the new football turf and the school’s basketball court.

As Bugs Bunny would say of Pitt’s zest to protect its trademarks, “What a buncha maroons.”

As you can see by the photos accompanying the Blade’s story, the logos are definitely similar and IMO close enough for a trademark foul … if Whitmer High School was to stand to gain financially from its “theft” of Pitt’s panther logo.

Trademark and copyright laws exist for a very good reason. Schools have to protect their brands for their own marketing and financial interests, and I don’t have a problem with a school going after an unscrupulous businessman trying to piggyback on someone else’s hard work. That’s fine.

But really, can Pitt show that the school is harmed by a high school’s use of a similar logo? Indeed, just the opposite is true: Pitt’s image is enhanced when a school copies its logo.

Pitt’s decision to sink its teeth into an unassuming school district nearly 250 miles from its campus is a perfect example of what’s wrong with the corporate collegiate mindset these days. Some official in charge of Pitt’s branding and copyright enforcement gets a whiff of some school using its logo, and it’s time for a ride on the High Dudgeon Train. How utterly stupid.

The high school is neither making a mockery nor profiting directly from the logo. But Pitt is doing a terrific job of mocking itself. Based on this story, the administrators at Pitt think that bullying a high school is a brilliant marketing tactic and a perfect use of its time.

There are several Pennsylvania schools that use logos either identical or similar to copyrighted college and professional teams. The Jayhawk that become so prominant during the two years that Terrelle Pryor and Jeannette were reaching the state football finals looks an awful lot like the University of Kansas’ jayhawk logo. Wilmington Area High School’s “W” is the same font and script as Wisconsin’s.

Tiger paws, Indian heads, spears, et al … many state high schools have insignias or logos pulled straight from the college and pros. And as far as know, no Pa. high school has to pay a royalty or has been forced to change its logo by one of those entities.

Why? Who wants bad p.r.? And as I noted earlier, the use of a similar logo is actually flattering, not threatening, for a college.

The high school in question has decided to make its own logo (also pictured in the Blade story) and will implement it as soon as possible, but it has been reduced to begging Pitt not to force it to remove the existing logos at the costs of thousands of dollars.

If I were the folks at Whitmer High and Pitt brought down the hammer, I’d comply … by going out to center court and midfield and giving that freakin’ panther a big, black eye.