The Naval Academy is demanding that Nike and L.A.-based boutique Undefeated "stop using a logo closely resembling its historic academy crest ," according to a front-page piece by Danielle Ohl of the Annapolis CAPITAL. Naval Academy Dir of Media Relations & Public Affairs Jenny Erickson in a statement Thursday said that the Office of Naval Research is "preparing a letter to the companies notifying them of trademark infringement and insisting that they stop." The official Undefeated Twitter account "tweeted a picture of the logo Monday -- it features a shield with five tally marks flanked by columns." The shield is "surrounded by a scroll." A hand "extends above the tallies to clutch a trophy adorned with a Nike logo and another scroll reading 'MMII'" representing the year Undefeated was established, '02. The Naval Academy coat of arms "features a shield, flanked by columns, surrounded by a scroll, with a hand extending from the top and clutching a trident." The Academy seal "has an approaching ship and open book instead of tallies, the aforementioned trident instead of a trophy and the scrolls read 'Naval Academy,' 'U.S.' 'Ex scientia tridens.'" Naval Academy graduates, parents and supporters "took to Twitter and Facebook to decry the logo as 'stolen valor,' a term used to describe people or products that use the trappings of military service without actual military affiliation" ( Annapolis CAPITAL, 6/15 ).
Navy Demands Nike, L.A. Boutique Stop Using Logo Similar To Its Crest
