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Have you ever seen someone wearing a Columbia University sweatshirt or baseball cap and thought it was a Columbia Sportswear product instead?
Columbia Sportswear is worried that you may have, or might soon. The company sued Columbia University in U.S. District Court for Oregon today, alleging trademark infringement, unfair competition, and breach of contract.
Trademark cases turn on whether one company’s actions cause confusion with another company’s products. Columbia Sportswear, founded in Portland in 1938, says the university, founded in New York City in 1754, is doing just that.
Just because the Ivy League university is older doesn’t mean it has dibs on any logo, Columbia Sportswear says. Columbia University wasn’t selling sportswear in the 18th century, but it is now, and the branding causes confusion, Columbia Sportswear says.
“The word ‘Columbia’ refers to only one thing in the minds of consumers of apparel, footwear, and related accessories: a long-standing, well-known brand that offers high-quality recreational products, clothing, and gear to consumers at accessible prices,” the company writes in its complaint. “The University’s conduct is currently causing and/or is reasonably likely to cause substantial confusion in the marketplace.”
The university and the sportswear company tackled the problem in 2023, Columbia Sportswear says, when they signed an agreement that allowed the university to sell Columbia-emblazoned gear, as long as it also featured some of the university’s indicia—symbols that indicate the school alone. Those indicia include a shield, a crown, a C design or Columbia’s lion mascot.
As long as the university’s merch included one of those things—or the word University, the name of a particular school at the university, or the number 1754—the sportswear company and the university could co-exist, the company says.
But Columbia University started selling shirts, hats and other items that said only Columbia, the company says, creating confusion.
“Notwithstanding this express agreement, in September 2024 Columbia Sportswear became aware of numerous apparel items for sale on the University’s webstore that used the name Columbia without any other university indicia," the company says.
The complaint contains numerous photographs of Columbia University clothing items that say only Columbia, including shirts, hats and visors.
“Moreover, many of these garments are, or incorporate, a bright blue color that is confusingly similar to the blue color that has long been associated with Columbia Sportswear,” the company says.
And some of the infringing garments also contain the logos for Columbia Sportswear competitors, including Nike and Champion, causing more confusion.
“A consumer looking at the infringing merchandise would reasonably be induced into believing there is an association between Columbia Sportswear and Champion to manufacture and sell the infringing merchandise, when, in fact, there is not,” the company says.
Columbia Sportswear said it tried to reach an amicable resolution to the matter late last year, but that the university kept selling the name-only merchandise.
Columbia University didn’t immediately return an email seeking comment.
Columbia Sportswear wants the university to stop selling the indicia-barren gear immediately, recall all that has been sold, and donate any inventory to a charity approved by Columbia Sportswear.
The company also seeks damages for economic harm and triple damages because Columbia University allegedly knew it was violating the agreement with Columbia Sportswear.
