Spanish Fort Toros to discontinue use of popular logo
Spanish Fort, AL – In recent years, both university and professional athletic programs have become aggressive in the protection of their trademarked logos and images.
Spanish Fort High School became the most recent program in Alabama to go under fire for the use of trademarked graphics by it’s athletic programs.
The University of South Florida sent the Baldwin County school a cease and desist letter last fall demanding that the school and it’s athletic programs discontinue the use of the University’s trademarked Bull logo.
The use of the logo has ranged from Spanish Fort High’s varsity squads to the city’s youth sports leagues and has appeared on scoreboards, stadium signage, uniforms and helmets across the city’s athletic programs.
According to the letter, sent by the university’s legal counsel, the logo being used by the Toros is “confusingly similar” to USF’s mark and “is likely to cause confusion by suggesting some affiliation, sponsorship or connection between USF and Spanish Fort”.
Both Spanish Fort High and the city’s youth sports association have agreed to comply with the request to abandon the logo by the start of the 2017-2018 school year.
The Spanish Fort Sports Association has already begun the process of removing the image from the league’s youth football helmets.
According to Baldwin County Schools Superintendent Eddie Tyler, Spanish Fort High is currently working on a new logo for the Toros’ athletic programs.
Similarly, in 2011, Penn State University requested that Prattville Christian Academy discontinue the use of the schools Panther logo that the university considered “confusingly similar” to the logo trademarked by the Nittany Lions.
Prattville Christian has since began using a logo specifically designed for the school.