The trademark “rights” held by government universities is exemplar of Orwell’s some animals being more equal than others, and makes a case for their outright privatization. The March 23-25, 2007 USA Today published “Parodies prompt laughs, lawsuits.” The story described how the “University of Texas Board of Regents is suing a Texas A&M graduate for trademark violation over the Aggie businessman’s T-shirt design that shows the UT Longhorn’s mascot’s horns sawed off.”

This article raises an important intellectual, as well as general, property rights issue: Why does a taxpayer-owned facility get to have trademarks? This is hardly different than if “the government” got a trademark for state capitols, the White House or Jefferson Memorial and demanded royalties from anyone making and selling postcards of them.

This article struck a nerve. When I was a University of Virginia grad student, friends and I were developing a game based on the university experience. We had an artist draw a rendition of the Rotunda. We eventually learned, if we were to use that likeness, even if drawn by a privately contracted individual, we would be forced to pay royalties to the University. The same would hold true if we used the name “University of Virginia” or variations of it in conjunction with the game.

Government universities are public, not private, entities. They belong to We the People, as do state parks, The Lincoln Memorial and the like. A move to trademark those entities would be met with outrage. Unfortunately, a long habit of not thinking it wrong, has allowed public universities to get away with this absurdity. If they want to act like private concerns and benefit from the laws that protect intellectual rights, then government universities must become private universities.