Disappointing: Duke’s licensing office doubles down on trademark bullying
I am the co-author of “Mark of the Devil: The University as Brand Bully,” covered by The Chronicle in a recent article. Sadly, our study shows that our beloved university, Duke, has the dubious distinction of being a trademark bully. Why? Because it routinely threatens individuals and small businesses with baseless legal claims, opposing their attempts to register brand names they have every right to use, such as “The Dude Diet” (for a diet-related website), “Bluefood” (for food products), “Get Your Blue On!” (for prostate cancer awareness fundraising), “D’Grill” (for barbecue smokers and grills), and “Pretty Devil” (for electronic slot machines). There are hundreds more examples. As we explain in our article, Duke’s aggressive tactics go far beyond what trademark law actually allows, with costs not only to competition and free speech, but also to Duke’s budget–diverting precious money to groundless legal actions–and to the university’s reputation. Duke regularly ranks near the top of charts identifying trademark bullies, not as compared to other universities, but as compared to all companies doing business in the US. This is not a good look.