Bennett College sued its alumnae association for trademark infringement, WUNC News reported. The historically Black women’s college seeks to stop the association from using its name, logo and other branding and is calling for significant punitive monetary damages, including at least “all profits realized” by the association.
Relations between the college and the Bennett College National Alumnae Association soured in 2022 after an investigation found that the college’s director of alumnae affairs embezzled more than $185,000 from the institution and the association. Unlike the college, the association didn’t press charges to get the funds back or cooperate with the investigation, according to the complaint. At the time, Bennett was battling for its accreditation from the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges, which deemed the college financially unstable. The complaint argues the alumnae association’s “weak financial controls, oversight, auditing, and reporting posed unacceptable risks to the College.”
Bennett decided to cut ties with the association and demanded it cease using the college’s trademarks, but the association has continued to do so to fundraise and advertise events, according to the complaint. Later attempts to reaffiliate the association with the college, within certain guardrails, ultimately failed, WUNC reported.
The college now claims the association’s events compete with its own and confuse donors. Bennett also needs to prove to its current accreditor, the Transnational Association of Christian Colleges and Schools, that it has “adequate oversight of affiliated corporate entities and auxiliary services” and “complete control over all its financial resources,” according to the complaint.
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