Enforcement
The University of Southern Mississippi is required by law to control the use of its trademarks. Failure to do so can result in a loss of ownership of the trademarks.
In the past, many well-known and valuable trademarks have been lost because of improper usage. For instance, "cellophane," "aspirin," "escalator," and "linoleum" were all trademarks that became public domain because the owners did not carefully control their use.
A single improper use of a trademark does not invalidate it, but repeated improper use or a pattern of inattention to proper usage can be most damaging. At Southern Miss, we take the protection of our university's name and trademarks very seriously. We will use every means within the law to vigorously pursue any infringement of our federally registered trademark rights. To determine whether a product is licensed, look for the licensed product label (represented below). All licensed manufacturers of Southern Miss products are required to display this label on the product or on the packaging.
Any suspected misuse or unlicensed use of the university's name or trademarks should be reported immediately to the licensing department.
