Darby Doll is not doing well.
She inadvertently broke the law.
And she is so sorry.
She loves her alma mater with all of her heart… but she infringed on their trademark by printing the words “War Eagle” on tee shirts.
Within a few hours of posting the tiger tee in the shop last week someone at Auburn University let me know that “War Eagle” is a trademark of Auburn University. First, I thought about what an idiot I was for not knowing that and then I immediately removed the shirts from the shop. Just a few hours in the shop is all they had but the damaged had already been done. This week I was contacted by the Collegiate Licensing Company and I unfortunately knew what their email would say before I even opened it… it was full of legal jargon accompanied by phrases such as… “unauthorized use of a trademark”, “we will advise the University accordingly and suggest a legal course of action”. I spoke with the CLC today, to assure them that I had complied before even being asked to comply with their request to cease & desist, that it was an honest and ignorant mistake and I will do whatever I need to do to make it right, which I am currently in the process of doing. The reality is these trademarks are not taken lightly and I have learned a very hard lesson. I asked the attorney today that I spoke with if it would be okay for me to print the tiger on a tee shirt without “Auburn” or “War Eagle” and he advised, that while the tiger I used is not trademarked/copyrighted by Auburn University that it closely resembles a tiger that they use and told me I may not use it. There will be no more “team” related tees and I have been advised not to use any colors associated with the university as well; all of these are the proprietary rights of the university and I will not gain from what is rightfully theirs. Live & learn! The good thing is that I can still say “War Eagle!” which I intend to do this weekend. I also intend to sit on the beach with my family and not think about what kind of mess I’ve gotten myself into. The good thing is, I can at least look at Darby Doll in her orange {wood grain} jumpsuit and laugh and remind myself that His grace is sufficient for me.
PS- I didn’t touch Darby Doll’s hair, this is exactly how I found it in the bottom of a bin in the closet of the playroom… she’s such a mess!
Sounds very stressful! And sounds like they aren’t being very nice…or just being lawyers 
I’m not sure if it’s okay for them to tell you that you can’t use a color or something that they haven’t trademarked/copyrighted. But I understand you not wanting to ruffle feather…too much at least 
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