Drake University is suing Des Moines Area Community College for trademark infringement. (Photo illustration from U.S. District Court exhibits)
A federal judge has issued an injunction temporarily prohibiting Des Moines Area Community College from using a new school logo that is “virtually identical” to that of Drake University.
Earlier this year, Drake sued Des Moines Area Community College in federal court over the latter’s recent rebranding effort. DMACC’s marketing features a single-character logo of the letter “D” in a block-style, collegiate font that’s similar to the logo used by Drake for the past 122 years.
Since then, the legal hostilities between the two schools have escalated. DMACC has filed a counterclaim in the case, accusing Drake of defamation. Drake has filed a motion seeking to disqualify DMACC’s attorneys from the case.
Last week, U.S. District Court Judge Stephanie Rose issued a temporary injunction preventing DMACC from continuing to use its new “vintage D” logo. While the ruling doesn’t decide the overall case, it marks a major victory for Drake, with Rose stating the two logos are almost identical due to the font and color combinations used.
As to whether Drake has a valid common law trademark for its “vintage D” and whether DMACC’s new logo infringes on that mark, Rose found that “Drake has used the ‘vintage D’ for decades to denote its university and the services it provides. It has provided several examples of the mark on artwork and yearbook covers, uniforms, apparel and merchandise, and in modern marketing — mostly importantly in connection with its live mascot and his letterman jacket. The demonstrated long-term use of the ‘vintage D’ supports Drake’s argument that it is a valid trademark which denotes its services within the geographic region.”
The judge also noted that DMACC has argued that it never intended to use the vintage, collegiate-font “D” as a standalone logo without accompanying “house marks” that would make clear its association with DMACC.
However, the judge noted, “Drake submitted a multitude of examples of DMACC doing just that … DMACC has never been able to offer an explanation as to why the standalone ‘D’ was put on its basketball court.”
In granting Drake’s request for a temporary injunction, Rose ruled the Des Moines university had successfully “demonstrated a likelihood of success in establishing trademark infringement” once the case is fully litigated.
She also noted that “although DMACC argues it would incur costs to revise its branding, these self-inflicted harms from knowingly adopting potentially infringing marks do not outweigh the incalculable damage to Drake’s distinctive identity and reputation.”
DMACC, the judge ruled, can “return to its prior successful branding that served it well for 35 years, requiring only the cessation of its recently adopted ‘D’ and blue/white color scheme. This temporary burden pales in comparison to the erosion of Drake’s century-old brand identity and the confusion created by having two post-secondary institutions using nearly identical branding in the same geographic market.”
Judge cites potential ‘evidence of intentional copying’
In her ruling, Rose also spoke to the claim that DMACC proceeded with its rebranding effort despite its awareness that Drake had a strikingly similar logo.
“Given the nearly identical colors DMACC chose in its rebrand, it is difficult to see how this is not persuasive evidence of intentional copying,” Rose stated in her ruling.
The injunction means that at least for now, DMACC is barred from using a block-style, collegiate-font “D” in conjunction with any color combination of white and blue to denote the school’s educational services, athletics, or related goods and services. That holds true even in cases where the “D” is paired with other words or artwork tied to Des Moines Area Community College.
DMACC currently has two weeks in which to show compliance with the court order.
Prior to the judge’s decision on the injunction, DMACC said it intends to defend its new logo, arguing that “Drake University simply does not own the letter D.” With the injunction issue settled, the larger case alleging trademark infringement, unfair competition, injury to business reputation and unjust enrichment will proceed.
In its lawsuit, Drake has said that its vice president of advancement spoke to DMACC’s marketing director in late 2023 to express the university’s concerns. On Feb. 9, 2024, Drake President Marty Martin allegedly visited with DMACC President Rob Denson on the issue and, according to the university, Denson acknowledged similarities in the logos.
Two weeks later, members of Drake’s marketing team met with DMACC’s marketing director to discuss potential resolutions to the conflict. In March, Denson allegedly emailed Martin and offered a compromise in which he assured Martin “we will only use the ‘D’ with ‘DMACC’ under it … We will never use it without the DMACC.”
Martin allegedly rejected Denson’s proposal, writing back, “’D’ for us is Drake, and has been for the totality of our existence. ‘D’ for you is ‘Des,’ and thus, does not have the same essentiality for you as it does for us. The ‘D’ is our identity.”
At that point, lawyers for the two schools carried on the conversation, with DMACC’s attorney warning that if Drake chose “to proceed with this meritless distraction, DMACC is prepared to vigorously defend itself and seek all available remedies.”