A U.S. District Court in Louisiana has ruled in favor of Ohio State University, three other universities and the Collegiate Licensing Company Inc. in their lawsuit against a sports apparel company that sold unlicensed merchandise using symbols and color schemes affiliated with the schools.

According to the court's July 18 decision, Tampa, Fla.-based Smack Apparel Co. can no longer sell merchandise using indicia affiliated with Ohio State, Louisiana State University, University of Oklahoma and the University of Southern California.

"In the wake of winning several national championships, Smack targeted massive sales of products around these four schools," Bruce Siegel, general counsel for Collegiate Licensing, said Monday.

The unlicensed merchandise, which was sold at the same retail outlets that carried licensed products, robbed schools of royalties they are entitled to, he said.

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Dayton Business Journal