Copyright
Columbia Southern University
Business Law
Copyright
Jim Clark submitted a logo design for the Birmingham Cougar football team and his logo
was not pursued. However, between 1996-1998 a logo was used for the team that was very
similar to his original submission. He sued the football team because he believed this to be a
copyright infringement stating that they improperly used his design without permission. The
court ruled that to be true, and the team changed their logo in 1999. Now, there have been
highlight films that show the original logo and Clark is suing again because this is another
copyright infringement.
While the team admittedly used Jim Clark’s design and committed copyright
infringement, there was not truly a second infringement. The Cougar’s use of the original logo on
the highlight films would be protected under the fair use doctrine. The fair use doctrine promotes
freedom of expression by permitting the unlicensed use of copyright-protected works in certain
circumstances (U.S. Copyright Office, 2021). Since these images had already been settled by the
courts, they should not be held against them again. They were not using the logo for current use
or advertisement; they were using it unintentionally. The team was using past footage that
included that logo design for highlight reels to showcase on their website, in the stadium, and on
television. Since the team would not have been able to play any of their footage from those two
years without showing that logo, I think that is unreasonable. The fair use doctrine can cover any
Columbia Southern University
Business Law
Copyright
Jim Clark submitted a logo design for the Birmingham Cougar football team and his logo
was not pursued. However, between 1996-1998 a logo was used for the team that was very
similar to his original submission. He sued the football team because he believed this to be a
copyright infringement stating that they improperly used his design without permission. The
court ruled that to be true, and the team changed their logo in 1999. Now, there have been
highlight films that show the original logo and Clark is suing again because this is another
copyright infringement.
While the team admittedly used Jim Clark’s design and committed copyright
infringement, there was not truly a second infringement. The Cougar’s use of the original logo on
the highlight films would be protected under the fair use doctrine. The fair use doctrine promotes
freedom of expression by permitting the unlicensed use of copyright-protected works in certain
circumstances (U.S. Copyright Office, 2021). Since these images had already been settled by the
courts, they should not be held against them again. They were not using the logo for current use
or advertisement; they were using it unintentionally. The team was using past footage that
included that logo design for highlight reels to showcase on their website, in the stadium, and on
television. Since the team would not have been able to play any of their footage from those two
years without showing that logo, I think that is unreasonable. The fair use doctrine can cover any
