Columbia Sportswear company is unhappy with some of the shirts, hats, sweaters and other merchandise Columbia University currently has for sale.

So much so that the Portland-based outdoor retailer is suing the East Coast university over trademark infringement and a breach of contract, among other alleged violations.

Like most major colleges and universities, Columbia University operates an online store where current students, proud parents, alumni and others can buy university swag.

But lawyers with the company say these wares look too much like what’s sold at over 800 Columbia retail stores. And the company worries that these similarities could cause confusion and mislead consumers.

Columbia Sportswear’s lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court Wednesday, alleges the university knowingly broke an agreement with the retailer — a deal that outlines specific limitations over how the centuries-old institution can use the word “Columbia” on its own apparel.

The company has held a federally registered trademark of the text “Columbia” for many of its outdoor clothing products since 1996.

In the contract, the two parties agreed that the university could emblazon “Columbia” on its merchandise as long as the word was accompanied by a recognizable school insignia, the word “university,” the name of an academic department or the founding year of the institution: 1754. In exchange, the outdoor company would not sue the university.

The suit says the retailer and university entered this agreement in June 2023. In the complaint, lawyers with the outerwear company say the school breached the agreement a year later.

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The complaint highlights several examples of violations, including photos of shirts and sweaters with “Columbia” in college block font that lack university logos or other associated markings.

The outerwear company also took issue with the shade of blue that the university chose for some of its clothes, writing in the suit that “many of these garments are, or incorporate, a bright blue color that is confusingly similar to the blue color that has long been associated with Columbia Sportswear.”

The company attempted to discuss an “amicable resolution” by reaching out to the university last September but the school did not “cure the breach”, according to the complaint. And lawyers say the school continues to sell the merchandise in question.

A spokesperson with Columbia University declined to comment on the lawsuit.

The matter of branding on merchandise may have not risen as a top priority for the university for good reason.

For over a year, the school has been in the crosshairs of the Trump administration and conservative lawmakers over its handling of student demonstrators protesting the war in Gaza.

Along with a handful of other Ivy League institutions, the Trump administration had frozen hundreds of millions of federal research dollars and other grants that were already slated to head to the university.

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On Wednesday, Columbia University agreed to a $200 million settlement with the federal government to unlock those funds. It was a controversial move that officials hope will ultimately save the university’s bottom line.

The lawsuit makes no mention of the university’s troubles with the federal government. But it does seek a jury trial and calls for the university to cease all sales of clothing that breach the parties contract, recall any products already sold and donate any remaining merchandise to charity.

The retailer is also seeking treble damages, or three times the amount of actual damages determined by a jury.

News Source : https://www.opb.org/article/2025/07/24/columbia-sportswear-sues-columbia-university/