U.S. Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks’, R-Iowa, campaign submitted an inquiry of concern to the University of Iowa over an apparent trademark infringement by challenger Democrat Christina Bohannan on Sunday, according to information obtained by The Daily Iowan.
In an ad airing Oct. 19, Bohannan wore a shirt with gold, all-capital lettering reading “IOWA” and featured the phrase “TEAM IOWA.” The ad shows Bohannan, a law professor at the university, running on a track and criticizing Miller-Meeks on panicking voters about girls’ sports instead of focusing on tougher problems faced by Iowans.
Attorney Alan Ostergren sent the letter to University of Iowa general counsel on Sunday on behalf of the Miller-Meeks campaign, urging the UI to take action against Bohannan.
The letter argues that the UI has registered the word “IOWA” in gold lettering with a black background with the United States Patent and Trademark Office, and Bohannan’s use is a violation of the Lanham Act — the primary federal law that protects registered trademarks from infringement.
The letter encourages the university to “promptly demand that the campaign and the candidate cease and desist from using the university’s trademark in political advertising.”
Ostergren further suggests that the UI should consider bringing an action for injunctive relief, which would legally require Bohannan to not use university-affiliated logos. Ostergren also suggested Bohannan’s actions may be a violation of the university’s policies.
“I am confident that no official with the University would approve of a faculty member using the University’s valuable trademark for their own political campaign,” Ostergren said in the letter. “Such would be a serious misuse of public property and contrary to the university’s mission.”
Jin Suh, Bohannan’s campaign manager, said in a statement to the DI, the letter from Miller-Meeks campaign is an attempt to distract voters from Miller-Meeks policies.
“This is yet another desperate attempt from Mariannette Miller-Meeks to distract from her out-of-touch record that includes pushing a national abortion ban with no exceptions and voting against lowering costs for Iowans while taking millions of dollars from corporate special interests,” Suh said in a statement to the DI Monday. “Christina is the only candidate in this race who’s looking out for Iowa families.”
The Miller-Meeks campaign called for the ad to be taken down immediately in the news release.
“Christina Bohannan will resort to unethical – if not illegal – measures to prop up her failing candidacy,” the campaign said in a statement Monday. “It is disappointing and shameful that Bohannan appears to infringe on University of Iowa intellectual property in her commercial. The ad — which attempts to distract from her vote to allow biological males to play in women’s sports — should be taken down immediately. The Hawkeyes deserve better.”
The UI did not immediately respond to requests by The Daily Iowan for comment on whether or not they plan to take action against Bohannan.
The race between the two candidates is currently rated a tossup by several elections forecasters and a September Des Moines Register/Medicom poll found that a generic Democrat is favored in Iowa’s 1st Congressional District by 3 points — within the poll’s margin of error.
The pair is set to debate later tonight, squaring off in a televised debate hosted by Iowa PBS at 8 p.m.