Georgia NORML at UGA gets two years probation for political satire

Athens — A University of Georgia committee has put a student group that pushes for the legalization of marijuana on two years’ probation for using copyrighted images.

Members of the UGA chapter of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws sold T-shirts with a picture of a bulldog — the university’s mascot — sitting underneath the UGA Arch, which is a protected image. The dog was smoking marijuana and reading a book on human rights.

The image was also posted on the group’s Web site. UGA officials say the students didn’t respond quickly enough when the university ordered them to stop using the image.

NORML plans to appeal the decision.

You’re damn right we plan to appeal this decision!  Explain to us how this:

Photo by Danny Shirey

is a trademark infringement upon this:

Georgia's Hairy Dawg mascot

Quick! A Bulldog on a t-shirt! Call UGA!

…unless all cartoon drawings of bulldogs are now UGA’s property.  I wonder if the UGA trademark police visited the Classic City Brew Fest in Athens this April 16?  Are they concerned about the obvious bulldog trademark infringement on the beer drinker’s t-shirt at the 1:06 mark of the video?  [UPDATE: Stasher Sameoldwine digs into the Bulldog on the t-shirt - apparently UGA trademark infringements are only a marijuana problem, not a microbrew problem.]

We reported previously on the plethora of beer and whiskey paraphrenalia you can buy festooned with all the Georgia logos – a direct endorsement of alcohol consumption.  The “but alcohol’s legal” argument doesn’t really fly when you’re selling shot glasses with marks reading “Freshman – Sophomore – Junior – Senior” and most freshmen and sophomores at UGA are underaged.

Another set of arches used in political satire

Plus in America, we have this little First Amendment thing that says it’s OK to politically satirize institutions, even using their own logos and trademarks.

Georgia NORML at UGA’s t-shirt is not trying to sell a product or imply university endorsement of marijuana legalization.  It represents Georgia NORML at UGA’s endorsement of marijuana legalization – can they not advertise their own student group’s purpose?  Or they can, only so long as they don’t make it obvious they’re a UGA student group?  Do you restrict other student groups from using the Hairy Dawg and Arches images in their recruitment?