Business, Government Legal News from throughout WVMivaMan Owner Says Not Going Out of Business

Although prohibited from selling certain merchandise as a result of a federal lawsuit filed by the West Virginia University Board of Governors, a Morgantown retail shop owner says he will not go out of business.

The board of governors filed the suit Jan. 6 against JFord Inc., MivaMan LLC and MivaMan owner Kevin W. Ford, claiming the business infringed on the university's trademarks.

An order filed Feb. 16 granted the board of governor's motion for a temporary restraining order prohibiting MivaMan from using the terms "West Virginia," "WVU," "Mountaineers" "WV," "Gold Rush," and "Let's Go Mountaineers," on its merchandise. MivaMan also is prohibited from using the university's color scheme.

 "This limits us from printing West Virginia in any manner other than ‘West By God Virginia' and the city in front of the state," Ford explained. "We can't even print something like Wild and Wonderful West Virginia on a shirt. The school thinks they own the state name, which is absurd. … They know they got me where they want me and they are taking it way beyond our constitutional rights."

In the federal suit, the board of governors said the t-shirts are a "transparent and blatant effort to trade on the identity of the university." 

"This is not simply a case of whether or not someone can use the name of the state," Becky Lofstead, assistant vice president for University communications said in a Feb. 9 news release. "When used in reference to WVU in the way it is being done, this business owner is clearly attempting to affiliate his products with West Virginia University to trade off our goodwill and strong reputation for his profit." 

The order also addressed shirts that Ford said are no longer sold, including those with the phrase "West F***ing Virginia."

"The important thing to understand is their motivation was to stop the guy that's doing the West f***ing Virginia shirts when we stopped selling that months ago," Ford said. "They just wanted to bundle all of this together and put me completely under business because we were competing against them."

MivaMan did get a pass in the order for some of its merchandise, however. According to the order, the retailer can continue to print shirts with the phrases, "Let's Go! Drink Some bEERs!" and "Let's Go! Drink Some Beers!"

 "There's a lot of news out there that I'm going out of business, and that's not the case," Ford said. "The judge made a ruling that was half in our favor and half in theirs. We decided to close the store because we are moving on the first of March into a much bigger building, but everyone is construing it as we're going out of business. We are still alive in this thing."

Ford explained the grand opening for the new store is March 1 noting the building is "five times the size."

The restraining order will expire March 12, and a hearing on the board of governors' motion for preliminary injunction will take place at 3 p.m. March 12.

"They are forcing it on me because I can't afford to fight it, and it's not really fair," Ford said. "But what is fair? Really it's not fair that a big company with big pockets is set on doing something and set on keeping me from competing against them in any matter."

For Ford, the battle is far from over.

"We will fight this again when I have deeper pockets," he said. "The battle needs to be fought, and it's a battle we will win, but right now, we don't have the money to win."