Hunter
09/18/24
The University of Iowa has renamed its “For the Kids Way” to “Hawkeye Wave Way” due to a copyright fight going through the courts.
The road, originally named South Hospital Drive, runs from Hawkins Drive to South Grand Avenue. It was renamed “For the Kids Way” in 2019 to honor the UI Dance Marathon, which has used the phrase “for the kids” for years.
However, Penn State applied to trademark the phrase that same year. The US Patent Office officially registered the trademark application in January 2020.
The Gazette reports in August 2023, a woman who had been involved in Indiana University-Purdue University’s dance marathon filed a petition for cancellation of Penn State’s “For The Kids” trademark. Kaylee Tutrow argued that at the time of Penn State’s application, the phrase was in wide use by other philanthropic fundraising efforts.
Penn State filed a response last month and asked the Patent Office to dismiss the petition. A status report on the trademark currently says it is “undergoing a challenge which may result in its removal from the registry.”