Tue, 29 Jul 2008 12:26

Employees at US online printed t-shirt makers Joe-College.com were forced to explain to telephone customers that their orders may not be processed pending the outcome of an infringement lawsuit. The store was in a legal battle with the University of Kansas which had brought the suit because they felt that some of Joe-College.com's products infringed upon the university's design or made fun of its image.According to impressionsmag.com, university officials had cited 206 printed t-shirt designs made and retailed by the online store as violations of the school's image.Jurors had the task of deciding which designs were unacceptable and eventually identified around 45 that they deemed to be an infringement.When the verdict came in, the jury awarded the university a partial victory and lawyers acting on behalf of the clothing manufacturer were confident that the company would continue to trade however, a fine of $127,000 (£64,000) was levied against them.