No Vols for Bush

When I in college, pretty much anyone could print up a t-shirt or other design using the college's name or colors. That was in the 90s. Now, it's tough to use college marks anywhere. According to UTPD confiscates stickers for trademark violations:

At a Republican Party pre-game tailgate party, members of Vols for Bush and UT's College Republicans handed out stickers with an orange and white checkerboard background that said "Vols for Bush." But they were surprised when a UTPD undercover detective came to confiscate the stickers, citing trademark violations.

The mascot for the University of Tennessee is the Volunteers, also known as the Vols. It sure looks like the school is clamping down on the use of their trademark. I can understand that they would want to confiscate goods like shirts or mugs that bear the mark, as these are things that are arguably commercial in nature. I find it strange that a club called "Vols for Bush" cannot put their name on stickers. I can see how one might assume that the school approved of the use, but can the school realistically patrol or enforce every use of their mark? If there was an alumni club called "Southern California Vols," would the school have the right to take away t-shirts printed with their names? Perhaps if they had not used the colors or pattern of the Vols mark they would've been OK.

For now they've just got to find another way to support their president.