Yale University forces humble Yale prep school chain to change name
Renowned university goes to court to ensure no-one confuses it with humble Yale Academy; owner says he wasn't invoking its name
One educational institution is an august university spread across 340 hectares, where thousands study everything from ancient philosophies to emerging technologies.
Another is a modest academy with locations in a few suburban shopping malls, at which fewer than 200 students cram for their college entrance exams. But the two institutions share a valuable name: Yale. And so a trademark infringement lawsuit was born.
The legal documents in the US case, which was settled last week in favour of the university named Yale, make it clear that the university had found nothing agreeable about the coincidence.
"Plaintiff Yale is a famous university located in New Haven, Connecticut," said the lawsuit, filed in May in US District Court in Camden, New Jersey. "Yale is a leading university," it adds. "Many distinguished leaders in government, academia, science and business are Yale alumni, including three of the past four United States presidents." And then, lest there be any doubt, "Yale's reputation as a prestigious and elite university resonates not only in the United States, but around the world."
The defendant, Yale Academy, with locations in New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Delaware, can make no such exalted claims - at least not yet. It has been in operation only since 1995. Nonetheless, "It has been known as the best preparation school for college entrance exams", its website says, without specifying quite who has known it that way.
Terry Yang, founder of Yale Academy - or Y2 Academy, as it will be known from August 31 - said he never meant to confuse anyone. In fact, he said, he never meant to invoke the name of that famous, leading, prestigious, elite university. Instead, he just combined his last name - Yang - and that of his wife, Lee.
Sure, his company's logo might have the same blue-and-white colour scheme as that of the university, but so do the logos of countless other companies. And besides, blue is his favourite colour. "No one has ever been confused between Yale Academy and Yale University," he said.