dailygamecock.com UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH CAROLINA
FRIDAY, JANUARY 29, 2010
President’s speech addresses conflicts between parties
Friday 53°
33°
Saturday 41°
21°
Sunday
Faculty members evaluate Obama’s first State of Union
18°
46°
VOL. 103, NO. 80 ● SINCE 1908
Jonathon Battaglia
ASSISTANT NEWS EDITOR
David Walters / THE DAILY GAMECOCK
Allison Garfield, a first-year media arts student, looks at logo-adorned baseball hat at the Russell House.
Another No. 1 topples Lady Gamecocks grab a key win over No. 1 Mississippi 58-50.
USC loses logo dispute Court order aims to avoid consumer confusion
See page 9
Sara Hartley
STAFF WRITER
Grammy style watch The Mix anticipates who will push the boundaries of fashion on the red carpet at the 52nd Grammys.
See page 6
Tête à Tête
Drew Marilyn Robinson Joyner First-year pre-law student
Second-year English and dance student
Is Playboy disgraceful pornography or a place to jumpstart successful careers? Two columnist battle it out in Viewpoints.
See page 5
The court said the logos could not coexist because they would appear on the same class of goods, be sold in the same type of market and could easily be confused by careless consumers. Carmen Maye, professor of media law and ethics for Carolina’s School of Journalism and Mass Communications, said she saw no way to rationalize the ruling. “I really think it had to be a matter of the judge’s interpretation,” Maye said. In the wake of that decision, one question in the minds of frustrated Gamecocks is this: how could someone confuse logos that are different colors and belong to schools on opposite sides of the country? “We actually discussed [the case] in my business law class and no one, including myself, thought that [the logos] were confusingly similar,” Abby Pierson, a second-year accounting student, said. “Not only are the color schemes for the two schools completely different, but the placement of the letters is not similar either.” Scott Edelman, an attorney representing Southern Cal, argued there is enough potential for confusion because sportswear is not limited only to school colors, the Los Angeles Times reported. According to the federal case summary, color and exact letter placement are not relevant — the logos are considered “legally identical” simply because they include the same interlocking initials. The University’s plans for dealing with this ruling are unknown at this point. Assistant baseball coach Mark Calvi said he does not yet know what will happen to the logo or any baseball merchandise. Ken Corbett, the director of Trademark and Licensing at the Carolina, also said the matter is still being discussed. According to Jones, the University has not yet decided whether to appeal to the Supreme Court of the United States. Following the court ruling, Carolina has 90 days to make that decision. The official case summary can be found at http:// www.cafc.uscourts.gov/opinions/09-1064.pdf.
A n ongoing t rademark dispute bet ween t he University of South Carolina and the University of Southern California recently ended in a decision that sided with Southern Cal, denying Carolina federal protection of the interlocking SC logo. The case involved two main issues: Carolina’s attempt to register the SC baseball logo for use on clothing merchandise and its subsequent effort to cancel Southern Cal’s registration of a similar mark. Both attempts were initially denied by the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board last year. On appeal, the TTAB’s decisions were affirmed Jan. 19 by the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit. The ruling is not sitting well with the Gamecocks. “The fact that we are being forbidden from using ‘SC’ is beyond infuriating,” said Brian Alberts, a thirdyear political science student who has been following the case since it began in 2008. But Neil Jones, the lawyer who represented Carolina, said the court order does not actually prohibit the University from using the logo. It only states that Carolina can’t register the trademark federally or cancel Southern Cal’s registration. “The order itself does not affect [Carolina’s] use of the baseball logo,” Jones said. “Whether we will change something hasn’t been decided.” Though Jones does not think the court’s decision will affect this baseball season, he could not comment on the risk of continuing to use the logo because this would be considered legal advice for the University. Regardless of whether the logo continues to be used without federal protection, Carolina fans are still questioning the logic of the court’s decision. “We should have exclusive rights to ‘SC’ before anyone else,” Alberts said. “For Southern Cal to say that South Carolina’s logo is causing problems for their Comments on this story? E-mail sagcknew@mailbox.sc.edu consumers is ridiculous.”
HYBRID BUS VANCOUVER-BOUND Hydrogen-powered prototype will return to SC after Olympics Cassity Brewer
THE DAILY GAMECOCK
Mix
(803) 777-3914 (803) 777-7726 (803) 777-7182 (803) 576-6172
Look at upcoming sports Check out Sports online and get a preview of the upcoming swim and dive season and track season.
Online @
www.DailyGamecock.com
Those of you who have ever questioned the ecofriendliness of USC’s shuttle system will be happy to note the newest addition to the Gamecock bus fleet in April of this year. Courtesy of Jeffrey Ranta The hydrogen hybrid bus, a one-of-a-kind prototype Columbia is one of the three stops on the bus’s route. developed by the Proterra company in Golden, Colo., is beneficial to the environment in many ways and is Canada. While in Canada, it will also be serviced for expected to launch demonstrations promoting the bus’s cold weather operation. Once the Olympics end, the green factor upon its return to Columbia. bus will begin its trek back down South. “The bus produces zero emissions. Instead of diesel Proterra chose South Carolina and USC for the fumes and particulates the bus exhaust is pure water test site of the bus due to the state’s warm climate vapor,” said Jeff Ranta, spokesperson for the bus. and because of their prominence in fuel cell research, Ranta said the bus also reduces wear and tear on the according to FuelCellWorks.com. roads and saves steel and iron smelting costs due to the Columbia is one of three stops along the bus’s route bus’s material. It is made of carbon fiber and fiberglass. in a three-year tour. Its next location will be announced Of course, the fact that it runs on hydrogen also before it leaves the city in December 2011. Ranta said makes it eco-friendly. they hope that the bus’s existence will help to promote “Hydrogen can be produced from a wide variety of cleaner transportation in the future. feedstocks, including completely renewable resources,” “Clearly there is a demand for more efficient, cleaner Ranta said. transportation and hopefully a successful trial of the During the bus’s year-long stay in Columbia it will bus here will open the door for more and more cleaner used in the USC shuttle service, giving students the transportation options,” he said. opportunity to take a ride. The 35-foot bus, while unique, is similar to other “The plan is for the bus to conduct daily shuttle runs prototypes that have been created. However, there are on the USC campus beginning in April which students several components of the bus that do make it stand out. can take advantage of just as if they were riding any “There are other electric hybrid buses in the world other shuttle bus,” Ranta said. but to our knowledge, the Hydrogen Hybrid Bus is the Ranta hinted that other events are being planned and only bus in the world with this type of batteries and this more information will be known when the bus returns. fuel cell to battery configuration,” Ranta said. It departed from Columbia on Monday morning for the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver, where it will be used to support the influx of visitors to Victoria, Comments on this story? E-mail sagcknew@mailbox.sc.edu
President Obama used his first State of the Union address to speak out against the increasingly bitter partisanship in Washington, saying the American people “can’t afford it.” Democrats and Republicans have remained divided along party lines for most of Obama’s first year in office. C h a rle s Bierbauer, dea n of t he College of Mass Communications and Informat ion St udies, said Obama’s speech ranked among the better ones he’s seen. “The president seemed very confident and very comfortable, and even engaged i n some ba nter at t i mes w it h t he members of Congress,” said Bierbauer, who was a political correspondent for CNN for 20 years. “Above all he laid out his direction and his objectives, but made it clear what his primary goals are.” Job creation, the economy and health care reform dominated Obama’s speech, but the president also touched on the rising cost of higher education. He ca l led for Cong ress to t a ke taxpayer money used for subsidies going to banks for student loans and give families a $10,000 tax credit for four years of college. Obama also asked for a bill that would require graduates to only pay 10 percent of their income on student loans. But t he i nve st ment i n h igher e d u c at io n d o e s n’t c o me w it hout stipulations, Obama said. “And by the way, it’s time for colleges and universities to get serious about cutting their own costs,” Obama said. “They, too, have a responsibility to help solve this problem.” O b a m a’s m o s t a m b i t i o u s a n d controversial proposal, health insurance reform, passed the House in November by five votes. Only one Republican, Rep. Joe Cao (R-Louisiana), voted in favor of the bill. In December, the health insurance reform bill passed the Senate by a vote of 60-40. Every Republican in the Senate opposed the bill. Polit ical science professor Mark Tompk ins, Ph.D., said he has been disappointed by united Republican opposition to the reform. “A significant part of the proposals being made are consistent with things Republicans have favored in the past,” Tompk i n s sa id. “ T here a re some market-like solutions in there that the Republicans should favor. So it’s too bad and it reflects badly on the Republicans that they haven’t supported some issues that should have been bipartisan.” A f ter narrowly passing bot h t he House and Senate, the two bills must be reconciled into one proposal before being sent to Obama’s desk to be signed into law. With the Senate no longer controlled by a Democrat ic supermajority, reform is in danger of not being passed. A stalemate on health care could mean further losses for Obama, who has dropped nearly 20 percent in popularity since his inauguration, according to Thursday’s Rasmussen public opinion poll. Despite t he d rop i n popu la r it y, Bierbauer said Americans should let Obama’s actions speak for themselves. “I wouldn’t even get caught up in worrying about an overnight swing in the president’s popularity,” Bierbauer said. “This is not about popularity, it’s about effectiveness.” As for grading Obama’s fi rst year as president, Bierbauer said it is much too early for a definitive answer. “That’s kind of like asking what your end of the semester grade is going to be in the third week of the course,” Bierbauer said. “It doesn’t matter what the grade is today, it matters what the grade is over a period of time.” Comments on this story? E-mail sagcknew@mailbox.sc.edu