Scarlet & Gray Girls Calendar Shredded After Trademark Lawsuit Settled

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OSU Shreds Unlicensed Cheesecake Calendars

Say what you will about Ohio State University's vigorous efforts to protect its trademarks--just don't say the school isn't cost-effective. After winning a legal battle last week that forced Scarlet and Gray Girls calendar-maker Sean Ashbrook to hand his 5,000 publications over to the university, OSU reps paid a visit to the publisher's home Monday to collect their booty, so to speak.

Among the employees who arrived to pick up the bundles of calendars from the third floor of Ashbrook's Harrison West apartment were OSU attorney Joe Dreitler and Assistant Director of Trademark and Licensing Services Rich Vanbrimmer. Dreitler and Vanbrimmer grabbed the calendars a handful at a time and loaded them on a large moving truck that was headed to a local paper shredder. It turned out to be a half-hour long ordeal.

The problem is that Ashbrook's cheesecake calendar featured more than just scantily clad women. It contained images trademarked by the school. These include photos of Ohio Stadium, team uniforms and even the words "scarlet and gray," as used in connection with Ohio State. Ashbrook, who said he hired a local former attorney for Larry Flynt to defend him, points out that he's been doing calendars with photos taken in the campus area for 11 years, and never had a problem until now.

OSU attorney Dreitler explained that the university is simply fighting against "unfair competition."

Why then, aren't magazines like Playboy sued when they depict OSU trademarks in college-themed issues, complete with scantily clad (or un-clad) women?

"Here the product that was being sold was the trademark. It was a calendar and Ohio State licenses calendars with its trademarks on them," Dreitler said. "If Playboy takes a few pictures of women or men over there and puts them inside a Playboy, nobody goes and buys Playboy and thinks `Ohio State produced Playboy.'"

"In this case, everything that was being sold was the university on the calendar," the attorney continued. "People who saw that calendar might think that Ohio State University had licensed it."

Ashbrook sings a slightly different tune. "Playboy probably has a huge legal staff," he said. "I think people have seen calendars like this all over the nation... I think the common belief of consumers is that the university wouldn't be involved in this."

Ohio State earns about $3 million in royalties from licensed products annually, and about 500 licensees sell OSU-themed merchandise. Not surprisingly, trademark disputes are not new for the university. Ohio State recently settled a legal battle with Athens-based Ohio University that started when OSU challenged OU's trademark of the word "Ohio" for sports and entertainment events and apparel.

Ohio State is also currently in the middle of a criminal lawsuit against Dublin resident Anthony Lukacs, who manufactured a T-shirt depicting Brutus Buckeye receiving fellatio from a University of Michigan cheerleader.

As for Ashbrook, he's sticking with his hobby. He has two new calendars coming out in October: Campus Men® and Campus Women, which feature the same models as Scarlet and Gray Girls, except the questionable pictures have been replaced with swimsuit shots.

But, the publisher admits, this will be his last calendar featuring female models. While he hasn't seen the bill for his legal fees, Ashbrook has had a realization: "I like shooting photos, but I don't like getting sued."