That’s it. It’s time for me to head back to school and get a master’s degree from Northern Arizona University or the University or Arizona. Heck, I’d even take an advanced degree from Dr. Nick Riviera’s alma mater, Hollywood Upstairs Medical College. That way, when people ask where I went to college, I could say something besides Arizona State University.
ASU’s latest bold move, to harass a local craft brew over its Sun Devil Ale, makes me embarrassed to admit I walked its increasingly dark and evil halls. It certainly will prevent me from ever donating as long as Darth Greedious (aka Michael Crow, the university’s president) and his minions are in charge.
According to a story by Edythe Jensen, a reporter from The Arizona Republic, attorney Glenn Bacal says San Tan Brewing Company “unlawfully misappropriated” the Sun Devil trademark and is selling “a counterfeit product.”
Nudist Colonies to Liquor Stores – All Bearing the Sun Devil Name
Do a keyword search on “Sun Devil.” I used the Bing search engine, and the first page included a women’s nudist club, a liquor store and an auto repair chain. Rumor has it there’s even a bail bonds company. The article acknowledges this, and says that many are alumni who sought permission – and I’d bet they also ponied up a donation. That behavior certainly weakens Bacal’s unlawful appropriation point. As to the counterfeit product – ASU should find itself an attorney that actually understands intellectual property. Nothing San Tan Brewing Company is doing in any way implies it is owned by ASU, or that its product is an official ASU offering. Unless, of course, Bacal is arguing that San Tan is not using real water, hops and grains to make Sun Devil Ale.
Jensen quotes ASU public relations stoolie Terri Shafer as saying the university would never allow an agreement with an alcoholic beverage because it would harm the school’s reputation (or at least the reputation that Darth Greedious is cultivating – which is to say a faceless, nameless, United States of Generica moneymaking diploma mill). Jensen rightly throws the long-standing existence of Sun Devil Liquors right back at Shafer. Her reply?
“Shafer said ASU hasn’t tried to force Sun Devil Liquors to change its name because the business doesn’t use the school colors, isn’t near the university and makes no other associations with the school.”
I don’t know if San Tan uses the school colors to market Sun Devil Pale Ale. If it does, that’s an easy fix.
San Tan is further from ASU than Sun Devil Liquors. San Tan makes no other associations with the school, either. So I think it’s safe to call bull excrement on Shafer. In fact, it’s a bald-faced lie nearly equal to Lisa Love’s lie about Pat Murphy’s “voluntary” resignation as ASU’s baseball coach. Sun Devil is too well entrenched and can afford to fight harder. San Tan is too new, I’d say, and may just lack wherewithal and ASU simply knows that.
There Might be History Here
Also, brew master Anthony Canecchia is a Four Peaks Brewery alum. Why might that be relevant? Because New York-based Arizona Iced Tea attacked Four Peaks Brewery over its Arizona Peach Ale. Lacking funds to fight despite having a good case, Four Peaks knuckled under and changed the brew’s name to New York Peach Ale. It would be interesting to know Canecchia’s role in that decision.
I’m going to wrap this up with some trademark talk. Part of my regular daytime job is ensuring that my organization obeys its own trademarks and uses them consistently and correctly. I get what ASU is up to and sympathize with the need to protect marks. However, I think its overlords are going beyond the mandate of protecting their marks and image. Sun Devil Pale Ale is not a sound-alike organization. It’s a different product that is not going to harm ASU’s business. I can see no way in which the existence of Sun Devil Ale will jeopardize ASU’s ownership of the mark, and it’s not costing ASU a thing – except the public’s goodwill for acting in the role of complete jackhole. The Sun Devil, frankly, has become bigger than ASU. It’s practically become a Valley symbol. San Tan is putting a stamp on itself as a part of that community. It’s a homage, ASU. One that wouldn’t been smarter to embrace.
ASU Has Spotty History of Protecting Trademarks
And ASU will find that its biggest problem is that it has been inconsistent in protecting its mark. Had it demanded licensing agreements with the many other businesses using the name, the university might have a genuine legal argument. However, it hasn’t. To protect the mark properly, ASU needs to be consistent. It’s failed at that, plain and simple. Its trademark defenses have been arbitrary and capricious. And this latest move will do nothing for it then further embarrass its supporters and make it look like an opponent of the community. Darth Greedious, it’s simply time to instruct your jackals to worry less about eliminating ASU’s reputation as a party school, and more about offering high-quality, reasonably priced education to Arizona residents.
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Crow gets what Crow wants. Period. He rules ASU like a South American dictator. Anyone who stands in his way, well, watch out. Fired, demoted or demeaned. The big dog bites and bites hard.
Thanks for your comment, Debra. I agree. He is definitely Monty Burns without the cooling towers.
I don’t recall seeing you comment here before. How did you find your way over for a visit?
Most countries in the third world never respects intellectual property rights. piracy is so rampant in asian countries.*-`
Public Relations is all about pleasing the common people.~:.
Hmmm. Really, it’s about pleasing people who influence others. That’s the real trick.