Columbia Sportswear sues Columbia University, alleging merchandise too similar and causes confusion

Clothing bearing the Columbia University name and T-shirts, sweatshirts, and other items under the Columbia Sportswear brand coexisted more or less amicably and without confusion for many years.

However, the outdoor merchant from Oregon has now filed a lawsuit against the institution in New York, alleging, among other things, trademark infringement and breach of contract. The university’s products, according to the report, is too similar to items offered at over 800 retail outlets, including more than 150 of its branded stores, its website, and third-party marketplaces.

Columbia Sportswear, which has been around since 1938, filed a complaint on July 23 in the U.S. District Court for the District of Oregon, claiming that the institution willfully broke a contract the parties signed on June 13, 2023. The university’s use of the name Columbia on its own clothing was governed by that arrangement.

According to the agreement, the university might use Columbia on its merchandising as long as the name had a distinguishable school emblem or mascot, the word university, the name of the academic division, the year the university was founded (1754), or a combination of these.

A little over a year later, however, Columbia Sportswear claims the university violated the contract after observing multiple items of clothing being offered for sale at the Columbia University online store without any of the school’s trademarks.

According to the lawsuit, a lot of the clothing has a vivid blue hue that is confusingly similar to the blue color that has long been connected to Columbia Sportswear.

Photos of several Columbia University goods that merely mention Columbia were provided in the case.

According to the lawsuit, Columbia Sportswear’s registered mark Columbia and the reputation for quality it represents are suffering irreversible harm due to the possibility of deceit, confusion, and error caused by the university’s appropriation and misuse of the Columbia name.

The case is being filed at a time when Columbia University faces the possibility of losing billions of dollars in government funding.

In order to reinstate federal research funds that were suspended in the name of fighting antisemitism on campus, Columbia University and the Trump administration reached an agreement last week to pay more than $220 million to the federal government.

The institution stated that as part of the arrangement, the Ivy League school will pay a $200 million compensation over three years.

Columbia Sportswear intends to halt the sale of any apparel that deviates from the contract, recall any items that have already been sold, and give away any leftover goods to charitable organizations. In addition, Columbia Sportswear is requesting three times the actual damages that a jury has found.

Columbia University and Columbia Sportswear were not immediately available for comment.

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