Gate 21

Meet Gus…

January 26th, 2008 |

Author: lawvol

Well, in case you haven’t noticed, I am still in the process of changing the graphics and layout here. I decided to get rid of the “Power T” Flag on the header for a couple of reasons.

First, while I do focus on the Vols of Tennessee, my goal is to also cover the SEC and beyond. Thus, in the interest of being a little less partisan, I decided to remove the implication that Gate 21 is about nothing but the Vols.

Second, in light of all of all of the “cease and desist” letters that schools and teams have been sending out to bloggers over the last 12 months or so (See Busted Coverage’s issues with the Big Ten, and MissouriTigers.com’s issues with Mizzou), I decided to remove anything that could lead the University of Tennessee to tell me to can it. While I am all about free and fair use, the fact is that Tennessee would have a pretty easy time demonstrating that I was, essentially, using one of their trademarks. Given the fact that Tennessee had to take Texas to court over the whole “UT Interlock” logo and the “Power T” logo, I imagine that they would be willing to take steps to defend their marks. Furthermore, I don’t particularly want to get into an adversarial relationship with my alma mater. No, I’m not surrendering, I still plan on using the “Power T” and other logos where appropriate, I just figured it probably shouldn’t be in my header. Besides, it’s always better to create your own identity rather than ride on the coattails of others.

Thus, I introduce my new “Gate 21 Volunteer,” which I designed, and who now lives in the header, and may undergo a little more plastic surgery until I get him the way that I want him. I hope you like him, and — in case you care — I’m naming him “Gus” in honor of longtime … media-type-guy … at Tennessee, Gus Manning. Why? Well, I’m not sure, except that I’ve never been clear on what Gus Manning does, but everyone at Tennessee seems to think his opinion is pretty important; in terms of age he’s on the older side of “completely indeterminate;” and he’s a pretty comical character along with his buddy Haywood Harris. Again, it was the only name I could come up with.

Anyway, say hello to “Gus” and let me know if you like him, if you think he needs something else to make his placement in the Gate 21 header make sense. Also, if you’d be interested in having a logo designed for your, blog, website, organization, etc., shoot me an email — I work cheap.

Oh yeah, the BasketVols play Georgia tonight at 7:00. Let’s hope for a win.

Given the topic of this post, it is obvious that I have little to write about today…

- Go Figure … SIG LawvolSmall 1 Meet Gus... Gate 21

Technorati Tags: Tennessee Volunteers,Graphic Design,Graphics,Logos,Logo Design,Gus Manning,Gus,Haywood Harris,Copyright,Trademarks,Cease and Desist,Volunteer,Ramblings,Power T,Gate 21

About the Author: "Lawvol" -- I'm just a guy living in North Carolina who has an unnatural fascination with the color orange. Just because I'm a Tennessee alum and die-hard Volunteer fan doesn't mean that I can't poke a little fun at the Big Orange and anybody else for that matter. Feel free to complain all you want. >> Read more from this author

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5 Responses to “Meet Gus…”

ethanator1088

says:

26 January 2008 at 3:53 pm

Awesome job. I can see ” Vote For Gus ” hats. I can see “Gus is with us” Vol orange shirts. I can see “What’s the Fuss Gus” as a new recurring post on your site. I can see Gus with comic strip bubbles over his head on your posts, speaking his own mind. Great idea to have your very own mascot.

Reply More from author

Football Jabber

says:

27 January 2008 at 1:37 pm

I know all this sue talk has me wondering about using any logos at all. I think that Missouritigers.com stuff he has posted is pretty damn entertaining.

A friend of mine had the Big Ten suits come down on her last spring because of her domain name, logos, and whatnot. Nothing really came of it, I think she just changed part of her banner.

Anyway, seen you have us in your blogroll there so I have returned the linkage.

Reply More from author

lawvol

says:

27 January 2008 at 3:05 pm

@ Football Jabber: Glad to have you stop by, and I appreciate the linkage.

As for the use of logos, I think the ultimate issue is whether you are using the logos to promote your website, as opposed to using it as a reference to the holder of the logo. In other words, I can’t use it in my banner because it makes it look as if I am affiliated with “Team X,” in an article about “Team X,” however, I can use their logo because I am attributing it to them.

I understand why the schools and conferences want to protect their marks. Still, I think some of the “suits” get a little too carried away sometimes.

I guess it helps keep life interesting…
============
- lawvol: http://Gate21.net – Life, the Universe, & College Football

Reply More from author

hooper

says:

27 January 2008 at 10:53 pm

One nasty problem about trademarks is that if you don’t defend them, there’s an outside risk that they can be declared “abandoned” and you can lose them. It’s a really silly argument for something like the Power T, where everybody knows that it’s a trademark and that it’ll always be used as a trademark, no matter what some alumni-yet-unaffiliated blogger does with it. Still, it’s just enough of a toehold for lawyers to go after people if there’s nothing better on the plate at the moment.

It’s kinda like the NFL being so active against YouTube videos. The NFL knows that those videos only help us fans learn more and keep us engaged, and the NFL really doesn’t want to make fans mad by taking down their videos and threatening action. But by actively defending their IP claims against even the obviously nonprofit uses, they establish a very strong position against anybody who might actually try to profit off the NFL’s marks. They now have the administrative history of mark defense on their side, and a judge will likely be very favorable to the NFL in a real suit.

Reply

hooper

says:

27 January 2008 at 11:00 pm

Oh, one polite thought:

Any chance you could set your banner as a link to the home page? I’m so used to clicking on banners to get back to the main page after reading articles that I end up clicking it fruitlessly a couple of times before I wise up and hit the “home” button.

It’s certainly no biggie; I can learn with the best of ‘em. It’s just a little thing I noticed (and fell for yet again today).

Enjoy the site though, keep it up.

Reply