2008 Woodie Awards
Students unknowingly purchase merchandise from unlicensed vendor
Kimberly Seedor
Issue date: 2/15/07 Section: News
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Years passed unnoticed during which Greek students purchased "unlicensed" Greek apparel. However, lately, students have been shocked to find that some of their orders have been cancelled or postponed due to a newly enforced rule stating that only licensed vendors can sell to the Greek College Community. This simple broken rule has turned into a lawsuit.
Every Greek organization on campus is protected by Affinity Marketing Consultants Inc. (AMC), which administers the use of trademarks for North America's leading fraternities and sororities. They claim to "help organizations protect the integrity and ownership of their trademarks." To support the growth of the Greek market, AMC insists on maintaining only the highest of quality control standards.
Recently, all chapters at the College received a warning from their national organizations, telling them not to buy from particular companies because they are not licensed. Chris Jachimowicz, Director of Greek Affairs, explains, "Chapters run the risk of getting in trouble with nationals if they're not purchasing through licensed vendors. The vendor will also end up in trouble with the licensing corporation because the products being sold are actually trademarked items."
The debate over licensed vs. non-licensed items began with Sigma Chi fraternity. In 2000, students were shown in a Greek apparel magazine holding mugs of beer with the fraternity's registered symbol clearly printed on the front. This sparked a crusade against the corporation who unlawfully used Sigma Chi's bearings; the fraternity claimed that the misuse of their symbols by unauthorized hands was intellectually degrading and gave the fraternity a poor image.
Courts ruled in favor of Sigma Chi on counts of trademark infringement and unfair competition. The decision has served as a strong precedent in favor of fraternity and sorority licensing programs.
Since then, 54 fraternities and sororities have joined AMC at the national level to protect their image and to prevent them from being associated with "bad things."
Every Greek organization on campus is protected by Affinity Marketing Consultants Inc. (AMC), which administers the use of trademarks for North America's leading fraternities and sororities. They claim to "help organizations protect the integrity and ownership of their trademarks." To support the growth of the Greek market, AMC insists on maintaining only the highest of quality control standards.
Recently, all chapters at the College received a warning from their national organizations, telling them not to buy from particular companies because they are not licensed. Chris Jachimowicz, Director of Greek Affairs, explains, "Chapters run the risk of getting in trouble with nationals if they're not purchasing through licensed vendors. The vendor will also end up in trouble with the licensing corporation because the products being sold are actually trademarked items."
The debate over licensed vs. non-licensed items began with Sigma Chi fraternity. In 2000, students were shown in a Greek apparel magazine holding mugs of beer with the fraternity's registered symbol clearly printed on the front. This sparked a crusade against the corporation who unlawfully used Sigma Chi's bearings; the fraternity claimed that the misuse of their symbols by unauthorized hands was intellectually degrading and gave the fraternity a poor image.
Courts ruled in favor of Sigma Chi on counts of trademark infringement and unfair competition. The decision has served as a strong precedent in favor of fraternity and sorority licensing programs.
Since then, 54 fraternities and sororities have joined AMC at the national level to protect their image and to prevent them from being associated with "bad things."