The University of Illinois this year discontinued the longstanding tradition of having a student dress up as Chief Illiniwek, an American Indian mascot, and dance during halftime of football and basketball games.But Chief Illiniwek was more than just a student mascot. It was also the logo you see here, which is extremely popular on clothing on the Illinois campus – we're talking millions of dollars in merchandise. Even though the University has washed its hands of the Chief, Illinois fans will continue to buy merchandise with the Chief logo on it. So who has the rights to that logo?
The University says it still has those rights, but the guy who created the logo disagrees. Jack Davis, a Champaign graphic artist, says when he designed the logo 27 years ago and allowed the school to use it free of charge, he did so with the understanding that the logo would be a permanent symbol of Illinois athletics. Now that it isn't, he wants the rights to it for himself.
I think it's a little bit hypocritical of the University to get rid of the Chief but still say it wants ownership of the Chief copyright – if the Chief symbol is offensive to American Indians, a university has no business trademarking it. But no matter how this plays out, someone is going to make money off the Chief logo.
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