White Heat: Coyotes Claim Penn State Promo Violates Trademark

Coyotes Upset With Penn State's Use Of "White Out" Terminology

The Coyotes believe Penn State Univ. (PSU) is in violation of the NHL team's trademark of the term "White Out," according to Bob Young of the ARIZONA REPUBLIC.  The Coyotes trademarked the term when the franchise relocated from Winnipeg to Phoenix, but last season, PSU designated some home football games as “White Outs,” and held a student contest to design an official "White Out" T-shirt to be sold for a game. The Coyotes last year informed PSU that it would “allow the ‘White Out’ promotion only once.” Coyotes Exec VP & CCO Jeff Holbrook said the school “signed a document acknowledging that they were in violation.” Holbrook: "They had done all the marketing and merchandising, and we didn't want to ruin the day for their fans. They asked us to give [them] a one-time exception, and we said, 'Sure. Go ahead.'”  But PSU “declared another ‘White Out’ this season for a game against Notre Dame.”  PSU Associate AD/Marketing Greg Myford told the school's paper, the Daily Collegian, that school officials “have applied to protect a similar phrase: ‘Penn State White Out.’" Holbrook did not say what the team's "next step might be but hinted that he believes [the issue] can be cleared up through back channels."  Holbrook: "We're not trying to make a big deal out of this" (ARIZONA REPUBLIC, 10/16).