KU Buckets T-Shirts
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Recently the idea of KU Buckets T-Shirts came up, so I did a little legwork and was approached about running with the idea. So, is there enough interest?
A T-shirt would run about $8 plus shipping/handling. How many of you would buy one?
Is a polo shirt the better way to go? My best guess is $25 each.
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I don’t think I’d buy one, sorry.
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Or are hats or bumper stickers a better idea?
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I’m DEFINITELY IN for a shirt. T or Polo is fine. I’ve spent a lot more money on a lot worse stuff in my life!!
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I’m always game for Hawkwear!
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I will send in $8 but I want mine given to a poor person in Lawrence.
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Some more suggested KUBuckets:
Danny Manning Head Sun Screen
Bill Self Hair Plugger
Jam Tray Crimson and Blueberry Jam
Snacks’ Hi-Fat SNACKS.
Kurtis Townsend Ebony and Ivory Cuff Links
JayhawkFanToo GOBLUE! Keyboard with Dedicated Back Fill Key
AUTO-HOWLING!!!
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… Ditto Jaybate’s comment above !! I want the shirt to be “Worn in Lawrence” whereby you will get the most visibility and overall PR. Tell us where to send the $$$ or Check and made out to who ?? Thank You, RedRooster
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@jaybate-1.0 I don’t call him Jam Tray! That’s slayer, so change that. I know lots of poor people in Lawrence if you need help!
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More Possible KUBuckets Memorabilia
KUBuckets All Natural Lake Henry Sun Screen
dragonslayr autographed crimson and blue gardening gloves made of old practice jersey remnants.
Sexy basketball net lingerie made from actual Allen Field House basketball nets modeled by Olivia Wilde.
A Blue Ray Disk of all the signings of Nike leans and adidas leans signing with Nike schools and adidas schools that support jaybate 1.0’s conspiracy hypothesis.
Crimson and Blue #14 Welder’s Masks for watching the coming total eclipse of the sun.
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Sign me up for Olivia’s outfit. I will pay for the cost if Jason can talk her into wearing it during halftime at a KU home game. Proceeds would be split between Olivia’s & HCBS favorite charities. All. Kubuckets.com ask is a long carpet. With our name on the floor as she walks across it.
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@jaybate-1.0 thinking I’d like bb net stockings! Not sure about # 14 welder’s mask???
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Are golf shirts a possibility? Also, what are you thinking for a logo. I know the people that run a certain mammary obsessed KU twitter feed got into trouble for releasing branded merchandise a year or two ago. I like the idea, but I’d hate for you or anyone else to suffer at the hands of an IP attorney.
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@JayhawkRock78 You can count me in for one. T-shirt or polo is fine with me.
Maybe a few more, in kids sizes. Christmas is coming, they would make great stocking stuffers!
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I was thinking the site logo with Naismith holding the ball with the red KU and kubuckets,com below it. This would not be a money making venture but I am wary of this kind of trouble. I also thought of a Jayhawk and kubuckets.com but maybe that is even risky.
I would it think there isnt any risk in a simple “ku.buckets.com” line across a shirt, or hat, or bumper sticker. I offered to kick in some cash before. Maybe I should just make a few hats and give them away to the site guys and a few ku kids and place a few adds in the UDK and LJW announcing our site?
(The printers told me a t-shirt with a collar is called a polo and is embroidered). But hey, I think we should give these out to approx/bskeet and designated web site studs regardless.
Please-anyone feel free to shoot down, add on, or let me know your opinions.
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Another idea would be to put a list of the users with over 100 posts on the back with KUBuckets.com and logo on the front. That’s 42 posters as of today with a few more on the cusp.
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Remember that great Bonnie Raitt song where she sang, “Let’s give them something to talk about…”
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“dragonslayr autographed crimson and blue gardening gloves made of old practice jersey remnants.”
*with authentic poison ivy urushiol remnants. The gift that keeps on giving!
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Let’s do it the way the commercial sites do. Let’s put our total number of members including all the spammers.
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Howling!
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I remember Cal’s “We’re chasing perfection” t-shirts ended up on the 50-cent rack.
How about a spin off slogan…
“Perfection keeps chasing us”
University of Kansas
Jayhawk Basketball
University of Kansas
Jayhawk Basketball
We found it!
University of Kansas
Jayhawk Basketball
Since 1898
Our first parking lot was a horse stable!
University of Kansas
Jayhawk Basketball
116-year winning streak!
University of Kansas
Jayhawk Basketball
Playing Naismith Ball since 1898!
Naismith invented it…
Wilt perfected it…
Kansas Basketball
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Dragon-I am impressed. Would you put the kubuckets.com on the same side? Or if different sides-which front versus back?
How about this-What will be the number of years ku buckets has accumulated in fan years is?
100 users average 20 years is 2,000 years of Jayhawk Fandom?
KU.BUCKETS.COM. 2,000 years of ku fans/knowledge can’t be wrong.
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Unfortunately, anything with Kansas University or Jayhawk or even with the crimson and blue color and any reference to basketball would have KU lawyers all over it and there is now a precedent…just ask Joe-College.com
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Thanks for the link-that scares me but the intent is non-profit- Just exposure. Perhaps in the end I just need to print a few things and give them away-zero change of money beyond what I pay someone to print and then give them away.
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First, I am not a lawyer. But if I were you, and wanted to pursue these T-shirts, I wouldn’t let any one’s gloom-and-dooming and fears get in the way. Why don’t you just write Larry Keating a letter and ask him if it would be okay with him and his lawyers if you were to make up some KU Buckets t-shirts, and sell them to cover costs, and inform him that any surplus that might unintentionally result you would be happy to donate to KUAD, or the Williams Fund, or the Assists Foundation, or whatever he thinks would be appropriate. And if he says no, then respect his wishes and just don’t do it. We live in an age when too many don’t give persons in authority a chance to act with some generosity of spirit, or to explain why they cannot. You would not be asking to do something similar to what the firm mentioned in the story was trying to do, so there is no real reason to assume what Mr. Keating might decide without asking him. Too many persons go negative and/or scare the heck out of others rather than just give them common sense advice. You are a fan. You love KU Basketball. You like this web site. Its not a commercial web site, so far as I understand it. Its reputedly 42 board rats that post frequently and some others that don’t, and a bunch of spam identities; that’s all. We are not talking about commercial competition for anyone. We are just some fans using the web to talk hoops. I am not even knowledgeable enough to know if KU would have any implied rights in such t-shirts. So: probably all you ought to do is write Larry Keating, or whomever is the appropriate contact person and ask them; that 's all. In the story, Mr. Keating sounded reasonable to me. He indicated KU gave the firm and its management in the story many chances to stop before any legal actions occurred. The key thing is you won’t know until you ask. Mr. Keating might have a very honorable and legally sound reason for saying no, or he might say, sure, go ahead. I don’t know. But it can’t hurt to ask. At least that is how it seems to this layman.
Rock Chalk!!!
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Even if you give them away for free, you are getting the benefit of the exposure. You would have to license them through KU and the process is long expensive and you have to pay royalties on each item you produce.
An acquaintance of mine had a flooring business and wanted to make area rugs with big Jayhawk in the center; it took several months and had to pay several hundred dollars to process the application and he has to submit samples before getting approval, plus he had to pay a percentage of sales. as royalties. Unless you are producing large quantities, the cots is prohibitive.
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@jaybate-1.0 said:
just write Larry Keating a letter and ask him if it would be okay with him and his lawyers if you were to make up some KU Buckets t-shirts, and sell them to cover costs, and inform him that any surplus that might unintentionally result you would be happy to donate to KUAD, or the Williams Fund, or the Assists Foundation, or whatever he thinks would be appropriate.
I agree with this approach if we want to pursue this. And just follow whatever comes out of his answer to the request. However, the request needs to include the final design so that the request is specific and well understood.
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I’m not sure… but you always need a catchy phrase on the front if you will wear our shirts to a game. Who knows… we might get on the tube!
I’m not sure about printing the Jayhawk. It may be hard to find someone to do it without authorization, especially since our logo is unique, identifiable, and known to be protected.
But if we can I think a short quick run could be done without issues, and not for profit. I wouldn’t keep them on this site and show them for sale. Just describe the designs, maybe show some of it, people place orders, then they just mysteriously arrive in the mail.
I think we can also go through the front door on this one and find contact info on the university site and ask for permission.
“Kansas Athletics earns about $2 million a year in licensing revenues, received through the sale of products that contain Jayhawks, KU logos, Kansas team names and other related items, said Jim Marchiony, associate athletics director.”
There used to be a tricky way around this.
In my examples above… saying… “University of Kansas, Jayhawk Basketball” would probably be as wrong as printing the Jayhawk.
I thought it used to be okay to say “Kansas Basketball” because what exactly does that mean? It could mean anything… but from reading that article it wouldn’t surprise me if the courts see otherwise because it is always tough for the little man to win in court.
I remember that shop down on Mass but never went in. Did any of you go in and know what he printed on his shirts?
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The owner of Joe College thought the same thing and yet KU prevailed.
As far as asking permission, this is what “licensing” is all about, you ask (and hopefully receive) permission to use the “art work” legally owned by the university for a fee and royalties.
If you write a letter I am 100% sure that they will direct you to the Licensing Department. Depending on the product, the university (through its licensing department and/or partner agency) will either give you permission (for a fee. i.e. “licensing” ) or deny it all together if it feels it is on poor taste or does not follow the guidelines outlined; alcohol and tobacco fall under this category. There is no way that they will let you use and art work owned by the university at no cost, otherwise, they would have every non-profit organization asking for the same exception; most likely you will have to either get a license or use one of the current licensees to produce the end product. There may be a smaller, local licensee (Kansas Sampler??) that is wiling to produce a small batch (under 100).
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This is what the licensing department does. You can write Larry Keating or Bernadette Gray-Little or any big shot at KU and regardless of who you write, I can just about guarantee that you will be directed to the Licensing Department, as I mentioned in my previous post.
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My kids have had shirts made up at acme in Lawrence. Pretty sure they could help you figure one out. They would know what would be legal. We just made up some shirts there for the royals, some slogans they been using. They are pretty good!
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Finally we have a real and valid option.
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I’ve been extremely busy recently and so I’m sorry I haven’t gotten anything done on this. @JayhawkRock78 and you guys have my endorsement however you want to go with this. This will always be a community and I appreciate your efforts in making good things happen. Rock Chalk!
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If you want an easy way for people to order, plus have it done “one off” then companies like Cafepress do a pretty good job.
They aren’t as cheap as doing a run, but shirts/caps/everything is only made per individual order. Plus… they have a shopping cart system so people can pay by cc.
I’ve had them do several things before and the quality is pretty good. I don’t believe shirts are screenprinted, but they use a high quality transfer system that isn’t like the old way where the designs start peeling off.
@JayHawkFanToo - Yes… you described it right, and I don’t think there are any exceptions around paying licensing fees.
But you can avoid fees when you make it vague. I’m not sure you have a problem with a basketball image and the word “Kansas” written over it. At least, that is the way it used to be. Univ of Kansas owns rights on material using their name and mascot, but they don’t own our State name, even when combining it with a basketball word or image.
Joe College wasn’t in any position to take on the university. And i’m positive they gave him a chance to bow out gracefully without a lawsuit. If he would have ceased his operation of anything relating directly to the university, they would have pulled the suit.
Here are some links to Cafepress that has some Kansas things that I’m talking about:
They probably have a couple of hundred things on there that hint about the university.
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Joe College did take on KU, unfortunately for them, they just did not have the law on their side so KU prevailed.
Cafepress might be a KU licensee.
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There are a few Naismith images in the public domain, so that shouldn’t be an issue. The only problem would be using “KU” … kind of hard to avoid that since it’s in the site url.
Maybe if we just add (No Malice.) to the art, they’ll go easy on us?
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Or… not mention KU so prominently (other than the website)
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Riff on Slayr’s last slogan above…
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This is a big help.
I am in touch with Acme and am looking into cafepress today as well. I will find out what we can or can’t do but acme tells me they run things by ku regularly.
I am beginning to think I just try a few designs with cafepress t shirts and a simple hat. Everyone could order themselves or even design their own. If they are so inclined.
I will keep ya’ll posted.
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@DanR Those are all outstanding. I was trying to do a cut and paste with the website logo. Acme has it and will let me know.
However, I love all three of your designs and it may be best to use yours as is.
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This might be legal?
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@DanR Those are outstanding! I’d buy any (or all) of them.
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I still suggest asking Mr. Keating before doing anything. Give him and KU a chance to be generous and kind, or to explain why they cannot be. And unless the image DanR used of Naismith IS in the public domain, and probably even if it is, because DanR used Naismith’s name in the slogan, you should probably ask the representatives of his estate. And Wilt’s estate, too, since his name is used in the slogan. It seems the right thing to do.
It sure is a handsome looking t, regardless.
Backfill here.
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And here.
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And here.
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@JayhawkRock78 These were just a couple quick ideas. I’m in the graphic design/advertising biz and have created more T-shirt designs than I care to remember. If we can all come up with a decent idea and legal design, I’d be happy to prepare the print-ready artwork.
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I love what you did. You remind me of a marketing gal that worked for me back in the day. I would cook something up and show it to her-the next day she’d have something that would blow my socks off. I guess my brain is just too linear.
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@jaybate-1.0 said:
Larry Keating
No need to bother Larry Keating. As JayhakwFanToo mentioned, just about anything with “KU” on it will need written approval from the trademark licensing director at KU before any local printer will touch it.
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Ok, I am an old layman coot and know nothing of such things.
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Back when the Saints went to the SB the NFL tried to get New Orleans shops to stop selling merchandise with the fleur-de-lis on it or “Who Dat” on it. They backed off with the stipulation that as long as it wasn’t marketed as official Saints or NFL merchandise. Just my 2 cents worth. Two hours to “Play Ball.” (beer)
