U.S. Naval Academy spokeswoman Jenny Erickson said Navy leadership was preparing a letter informing Nike of what they believe to be trademark infringement, according to a statement released on social media Thursday night.
According to The Washington Post, the U.S. Naval Academy is demanding that Nike and Undefeated, a Los Angeles-based boutique, stop using a new logo that is almost identical to the academy’s crest. The Office of Naval Research holds the crest trademark on behalf of the Naval Academy, and the Navy is sponsored by Under Armour.
“The Naval Academy crest represents honor, integrity and leadership, and is emblematic of our students and more than 80,000 alumni who serve and have served our country, many of whom made the ultimate sacrifice in its defense. It is difficult to understand why anyone would modify and use our symbol without permission for marking and profit motives.”
“The similarities of the Nike/UNDEFEATED logo released this week and the USNA Crest are undeniable and we believe their logo is clearly an infringement under trademark law,” the statement continued. “The Naval Academy is working with Navy leadership to order Nike/UNDEFEATED to cease and desist their use of the logo.”
The Undefeated logo, which was used to promote a Nike collaboration for the World Cup called The Fives, instantly drew attention by people on Twittter. Undefeated has since removed its tweets using the logo.
https://twitter.com/RealBuckEyeCam/status/1007225952227790853?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.washingtonpost.com%2Fnews%2Fdc-sports-bog%2Fwp%2F2018%2F06%2F15%2Fu-s-naval-academy-demands-nike-stop-using-undefeated-logo-that-resembles-its-crest%2F
And just another reason why Navy went with UA. Pure class Nike.
— Kay Mo (@NaptownKay) June 15, 2018
you know there’s an active trademark on that logo, right @UNDEFEATEDinc ? #stolenvalor #undefeated pic.twitter.com/r7F3m8aN1w
— LiquidHaus (@liquidhaus) June 14, 2018
Source: The Washington Post
Very Creative