A federal court has sided with Des Moines Area Community College in the latest ruling in the ongoing copyright dispute between DMACC and Drake University, which the lawsuit’s judge has called “heated” and “contentious.”
Last July, Drake sued DMACC for copyright infringement, accusing DMACC of allegedly stealing their vintage ‘D’ logo. DMACC countersued for defamation, claiming Drake had no legal grounds for a suit and was portraying DMACC in a bad light.
In November, United States Chief District Judge Stephanie Rose — who is presiding over the case — granted Drake’s request for an injunction forcing DMACC to remove the logo from its campuses and official merchandise until the case is resolved.
In this latest ruling issued on Feb. 18, Rose granted a motion filed by DMACC to raise Drake’s required preliminary bond from $25,000 to $250,000 and denied Drake’s motion alleging DMACC was non-compliant with the injunction Rose issued in November.
After the November ruling, DMACC was given until Dec. 12 to remove the new logo, however, DMACC was not able to complete the task by the deadline. DMACC argued it was working diligently to comply with the order but that the process to remove the logo everywhere was “a complex logistical process” that wasn’t possible to complete in just a three-week window. Drake used this to claim that DMACC wasn’t complying with Rose’s order.
“We are thankful that the Court upheld what we have maintained all along, that DMACC moved quickly to comply with the preliminary injunction,” said Erica Spiller, vice president of student affairs at DMACC in an email to the TD. “It took an enormous team effort to accomplish what we did in only 21 days, including the Thanksgiving holiday and finals week. To then have to defend ourselves against Drake’s unreasonable allegations that we defied the court’s order was an affront to our faculty, staff, and corporate, educational and community partners across central Iowa.”
In raising the bond to $250,000, Rose found that DMACC acted in “good faith” and that, should it ultimately prevail in the case, it would receive the bond to cover the costs of being wrongfully restrained. The money will be returned to Drake should it win instead. Drake has until March 4 to pay the bond.
“The Court recognizes the eradication of the uses of the enjoined ‘D’ required in the preliminary injunction is no small task, [it was] unrealistic and unreasonable,” Rose wrote in the ruling.
Drake President Marty Martin said he remains confident that Drake will prevail in the end.
“We respect the court’s decision to increase the bond amount while recognizing that costs incurred by DMACC were a result of it continuing to invest in a brand strikingly similar to Drake’s after we made numerous efforts in good faith to reach a resolution outside of the courts. Drake is confident the bond will be returned when DMACC is permanently enjoined,” Martin said in a statement to the TD. “The Court’s earlier ruling to grant a preliminary injunction clearly states that ‘Drake has established a likelihood of success on the merits [of the case],’ and as such, we were hopeful we could move on from this matter without further appeals and litigation.”
Rose also noted in the ruling that Drake did not adhere to Iowa’s Local Rule 7’s “meet and confer” requirements, which mandates parties to meet, discuss and attempt to resolve an issue before filing with the court.
Rose writes that Drake did not meet with DMACC first before filing the claim that DMACC wasn’t adhering to the injunction.
“We remain willing to discuss reasonable settlement terms,” Spiller said. “Until then, we will continue to defend ourselves, as it is critical to discern and resolve that Drake University does not own the letter ‘D’ in all its forms.”
