Harvard: Administration Watch-Dogs Keep Use of Harvard Name Under Control

What image does the name Harvard evoke? To some it is a brand of cigarettes marketed in India, a type of cologne produced in England or a beer that a Massachusetts-based company first brewed at the end of the 19th century. To others it is a second-rate school in Canada that teaches negotiating skills. And then there s the Cambridge-based educational institution that claims and fights for the sole rights to the coveted name. Enrique J. Calixto, Harvard s trademark program s administrator, and others at the Harvard Office for Technology and Trademark Licensing spend at least a quarter of a million dollars a year tracking trademark and name violations.

The greatest challenges come from foreign countries where trademark laws are different fromaand often less rigorously enforcedathan in the United States. Regardless of the worldwide fame of the name, in some countries the first company to register >=Harvard<= or to use the name gets the local rights to the name. The British department store Marks & Spencer beat Harvard to the draw in England, defining the Harvard smell with a line of men s toiletries. Why put Harvard s name on blue bottles of talcum powder, cologne, deodorant and body spray? Janet Hards, the press officer for the department store, says >=there is that kind of feel, just like traditional, classic.<=

While the University dislikes having its coveted name appear on bathroom products, it is virtually powerless to demand its rights. It had not already marketed products in England, leaving the field open for other companies. In this particular case Harvardanever intending to sell toiletriesareached a settlement with the store. >=Marks & Spencer is allowed to sell men s toiletries bearing the Harvard mark only in Marks & Spencer stores and only outside the U.S., Canada and Mexico,<= Calixto says. The catch: >=It wasn t an agreement that we had a choice over,<= he says.

Not only have companies marketed a Harvard smell but also Harvard studying techniques and Harvard tastes. There was a Harvard English Academy in Korea before the University demanded that it change its name. The school s threats to sue the Harvard Review in Californiaaan SAT prep schoolaforced it to take the H-word out of its name.

The University hunts down these companies, tracking those who try to register the Harvard name through the Trademarks Directory Service in London. Sometimes, however, companies act on the sly, simply using the name without attempting to file for the rights; Harvard hears about these cases through word of mouth. Each year the University learns about 50 to 100 cases of name use or trademark problems. Calixto claims these companies falsely attract customers using Harvard s reputation, demeaning the educational objectives of the school.

The University then dispatches its lawyers. It sends >=cease and desist<= letters to the companies in violation, demanding an immediate change of name. These letters often threaten lawsuits if the companies refuse to comply. According to Calixto, 90 percent of companies remove the offending word from their names. For those who refuse to comply, a lawsuit often lies ahead. Calixto says the University is most concerned about violations by companies marketing educational services or >=noxious<= products like cigarettes and alcohol.

Last spring, for example, the Lowell Brewing Company Inc. loaded the shelves of 300 stores around the state with Harvard Lager Beeraa brand that was originally introduced in 1898 but discontinued in the middle of this century. The University cried name violation and dispatched its Chicago attorneysaBrinks, Hofer, Gilson & Lioneain pursuit. The school threatened to sue, but the company refused to yield, arguing that the brand has been in existence for over 100 years and was not named after the University. The University s lawyers are still in communication with Lowell Brewing, says Harvard Deputy General Counsel Robert B. Donin. He refused to comment on the progress of the discussions.

>=Our attorneys proved to them that we weren t using the trademark name,<= Lowell Brewing President David L. Elias contends. >=It brought back a piece of the history of Lowell, Massachusetts.<= Elias claims the school had no reason to attack his company. >=For a...school like that to do something to a small company is kind of shocking,<= Elias says.

The University says it is defending much more than its name. Harvard administrators claim it is not appropriate for an educational institution that discourages irresponsible drinking to have its name on a brand of beer. >=The concern is made more acute by the fact that it is an alcoholic beverage,<= Donin says. But Elias says he thinks this argument does not hold water. >=For the deans to say that brand of beer is going to cause more problems...they re obviously not that intelligent,<= Elias says. >=If young adults want to drink, they re going to drink.<= Many store shelves are now devoid of Harvard beer. >=The impending lawsuit from the University caused all the retailers to drop the product,<= Elias says. The company may take the brand off the market, Elias adds.

This case is not unusual. Harvard usually emerges victoriousaespecially in cases involving education. >=Our top concern...is anything the public might confuse thinking Harvard might be involved with it,<= Calixto says. >=Trademark law is there to protect the consumer.<= Consumers, Calixto says, often get confused. Last year, the call of a bewildered customer alerted Harvard to a name violation; the Canadian company Harvard Negotiations International, Inc. (HNI), which is completely unaffiliated with the University, trains people to resolve disputes through negotiations or similar means. Harvard has programs that perform similar functions, and Calixto claims the company falsely attracts customers using Harvard s reputation. In what may be its first trademark battle in foreign courts, Harvard is suing HNI.

But the University is not always on the offensive. Sometimes companies approach Harvard, asking the school to endorse a line of clothing, a bicycle or a type of credit card. Harvard, however, says it does not have a price. It remains conservative in its licensing in order not to abuse or soil a name that for over 350 years has stood for quality education. >=If Harvard University wanted to make a lot of money in licensing on its name it could, but we limit it,<= Calixto says. >=We turn down a lot of stuff.<=