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Source: http://newsok.com/article/3166799/?pg=2 January 14, 2009. Article has not been altered except to reformat it for easier reading and to remove advertising.

Vendors won't be charged, DA says Many say they will seek licensing agreement By Sara Ganus Published: November 9, 2007 The Oklahoma County district attorney's office does not intend to prosecute vendors who allegedly infringed the University of Oklahoma and Oklahoma State University trademarks by selling college-themed merchandise at An Affair of the Heart, Assistant District Attorney Scott Rowland said this week. The district attorney's office also will not seek forfeiture of the items, he said. "We are of course fully supportive of any holder of a trademark or copyright protecting those, but in this case I think apparent irregularities in the seizure of those items by the university employees preclude us from taking action against the vendors,” Rowland said in an e-mail. Last week more than 15 vendors filed complaints of theft against Suzanne Staley, OU's director of brand development, and Judy Barnard, OSU's director of trademarks and licensing, after the two women seized their merchandise at the Oklahoma City craft show for allegedly bearing OU and OSU trademarks. The district attorney's office has yet to determine whether it will file criminal charges against Staley and Barnard, Rowland said. Any person who knowingly and with intent to sell or distribute an item that bears a counterfeit mark can, upon conviction, be guilty of a misdemeanor punishable by imprisonment in the county jail for up to a year or by a fine up to $1,000, according to Title 21 of the Oklahoma Statutes. Rowland would not comment on the specifics of the case, but said generally, for someone to seize private property, that person must have a search warrant or court order, and that any kind of warrant-less seizure is "problematic.” "Whenever you do it without a warrant, you start out from the proposition that it's assumed to be an illegal seizure, and then the burden's on the state to prove that it was lawful,” he said. "It's just so much easier if you have the time and opportunity to (obtain) a warrant or a court order. "I would prefer that to have been done in this case, if this case is brought to us.” In the meantime, both universities have sent certified letters to the vendors whose merchandise was obtained for allegedly using university trademarks without a license. Both letters explain how to become a licensed vendor and say the universities will return items under three conditions:

• If the products are not sold or disposed of in any commercial manner unless a license is first issued through the Collegiate Licensing Co. • If the vendor agrees to refrain from engaging in "any further infringing activities” • If the return of property under the other two conditions "fully resolves all matters related to infringement and confiscation”

Both universities issued statements saying they are working on returning the alleged unlicensed items to the vendors if they agree to sign the release. What the vendors say A week before Tulsa's An Affair of the Heart weekend Nov. 16-18, some crafters said they are trying to obtain licenses before the event while others said they will no longer manufacture college merchandise. Vendors lost anywhere from $150 to $7,000 worth of merchandise, and many said they were "repeatedly threatened,” if they did not hand it over, according to police reports. An off-duty officer from another jurisdiction also accompanied the two university representatives. OSU spokesman Gary Shutt said OSU will not have a licensing official at the Tulsa event. OU declined to comment. Anita Hinkle, Tulsa's An Affair of the Heart partner, said she does not anticipate any problems with this year's show, adding that the universities have been sending licensing representatives for years. "I do know that they come often to both the Tulsa show and the Oklahoma City show and not only our show,” she said. "They check on this with other people also, so it's not as though they're targeting An Affair of the Heart.” Hinkle said show officials encourage vendors to follow licensing and trademark agreements and to follow the law, but with nearly 800 artists and craftsmen, the show cannot oversee the operations of every vendor. "When we do notice something that doesn't comply to our rules and guidelines ...we just ask (vendors) to remove it,” she said. "But I'm not sure that I would know if a person was complying with the licensing agreements or not.” Patty Avery, 55, of Midwest City has been a vendor at An Affair of the Heart in Oklahoma City since 1995. This was the first year she decided to buy OU and OSU fabric from Wal-Mart to make kitchen towels. "There's no way anybody could ever get me to get near that stuff again,” she said. Like many vendors, Avery said she didn't know she was doing anything illegal. "I know I cannot make the OU and the OSU emblem, but this is fabric,” she said. "It's already printed. I paid for it. I didn't get it illegally or anything.” Janene Bridwell, 59, of Midwest City said she refuses to sign OU's letter to get her merchandise after the way she was treated but plans to apply for licensing through OSU. "I don't want any of it back (from OU),” she said. "I'm just upset about it all. That was embarrassing in front of customers. I think they could have come in and said it in a little nicer way.” Karen Vaughn, 47, of Ardmore said even though she felt like the situation could have been handled differently, she wants a license more than anything. "I plan to pursue licensing if it's a reasonable amount for crafters,” she said. Other vendors, like Judy Beville, 55, of Lawton, haven't decided whether they will sign the releases. "I understand their licensing — I don't disagree with that at all,” Beville said. "I just don't feel like they had the right to be as rude and go about it the way they did.” At least two vendors filed complaints by phone, saying Staley and Barnard threatened them but didn't take anything after the vendors protested, according to police reports. ©2009 Produced by NewsOK.com