Of trademarks, blue turf, and non-green fields…

Here’s something I didn’t know: Boise State has a full-time office of trademark licensing and enforcement, and anyone in the world – a high school in Texas, a college in New England, a university in Japan – who wants to install an artificial turf field of any color other than green must first check with that office. The New York Times reports today that Rachael Bickerton, a London-born former music-licensing lawyer who is Boise State’s director of trademark licensing and enforcement, defends “the iconic blue turf football field from any copycats who would dull its luster.”

The full New York Times article is online here . It reports that the blue turf, installed in 1986, began as a marketing tool, but has come to represent the city and the university. BSU’s blue turf trademark was approved by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office in 2009, and was expanded from just blue to non-green in 2010. BSU typically grants permission to high schools and the like for non-green fields at no charge.

The Times also reports that BSU holds a trademark on the word “Bronco,” but has permitted the professional franchise in Denver to keep using it.