black…MYstory

Converse must have thought that they had a rock-solid idea in 2003. They created a line of sneakers, using the colors and founding years of black fraternities and sororities but, did not pay licensing fees to these groups. That year, they released a line of shoes called “GREEKPAK”. That same year, 6 fraternities and sororities (Alpha Phi Alpha, Delta Sigma Theta, Alpha Kappa Alpha, Kappa Alpha Psi, Omega Psi Phi and Phi Beta Sigma) sued Converse in federal court and a judge ruled against them in January 2005. However, the decision was overturned and, rather than face another legal battle and further jeopardize their standing with black sneaker buyers, Converse opted to settle the claim.

As a result, Converse will pay monetary damages and licensing costs to the fraternities and sororities, pending a judge’s approval of the settlement.

What strikes me as most odd was Converse’s argument that they weren’t violating trademarks. They used the official colors of these groups. They even used the founding years (come on, how many times have we heard Alphas yell “Oh-six”?). Then, on top of that, they named the line “GREEKPAK”. What other conclusion could one draw but that they were making a line of shoes to appeal to the black greek market?

I am just happy to see that they are going to have to pay up. Perhaps they thought they were just dealing with black college kids but, after many decades, these black greek organizations know about licensing and marketing. I’m sure, the next time, a company will go to them first before attempting to infringe on their trademarks.

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