Midstate school district will phase out disputed logo

(Bloomsburg) — A midstate school district hopes its recent experience is a reminder to schools to make sure their logos aren’t a little too similar to those of college or professional sports teams.

The Southern Columbia School District in Columbia County is changing its Tiger head logo after receiving a cease-and-desist letter from a law firm representing the University of Missouri last November.

It seems the logo infringed on the college’s copyrighted tiger image.

Superintendent Paul Caputo urges other districts to do their own due diligence.

“They should probably examine their logos,” he says. “On any given day, you can do your own search on the internet and you’re going to find school logos and symbols that are very similar to larger institutions.”

Caputo says the university has been very accommodating in allowing the district time to phase out the old logo in things like signs, apparel, websites and the new gym floor.

“They were very obliging in working out a transition plan. They didn’t demand that we remove the signs or anything like that,” he says.

About 1,400 students attend the Southern Columbia School District.