U Nebraska Disavows New ICE Detention Center, the ‘Cornhusker Clink’
“The University of Nebraska has had no role in the planning, naming, or future operation of the Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility”
These people are utterly humorless. How can you not laugh at this name?
Campus Reform reports:
University of Nebraska disavows ICE’s new ‘Cornhusker Clink’ detention center
The University of Nebraska–Lincoln (UNL) has issued a statement distancing itself from a newly announced Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detention center in McCook, Nebraska, after the facility adopted the “Cornhusker” name.
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem announced the expansion on on Aug. 19, thanking Gov. Jim Pillen and calling the facility the “Cornhusker Clink.” The center, previously known as the McCook Work Ethic Camp, will add 280 detention beds in cooperation with federal law enforcement.
“The University of Nebraska has had no role in the planning, naming, or future operation of the Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility at the McCook Work Ethic Camp and learned of it only through the federal announcement,” the university said.
The dispute centers on licensing rights as the NU Board of Regents owns the “Cornhusker” trademark, which requires permission if tied to the university’s colors or identifiers.
However, the word may be used freely in reference to the state of Nebraska. The university said it will not pursue legal action.
State Sen. Megan Hunt of Omaha criticized that decision, writing on X, “The University of Nebraska enforces its trademark all the time. Why not now? Using ‘Cornhusker’ to brand an ICE detention camp is a disgrace. [UNL] should defend its name and denounce this shameful use.”
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Comments
Nebraska has been the Cornhusker State since, I believe, the mid-1940s. There was no reason at all for the university to wade into the matter and there was no ‘dispute’ until their statement effectively generated controversy where there was none.
To think the university might have grounds for a copyright infringement claim, as suggested by a Democratic Socialists of America affiliated state senator, is laughable, considering the usage has absolutely zero to do with the university.
Bingo. The state had that nickname LONG before the university.
“…the NU Board of Regents owns the “Cornhusker” trademark, which requires permission if tied to the university’s colors or identifiers.” Italics added for emphasis.
Trademark law exists to protect the consumer, not the producer. The focus is entirely on whether a consumer is likely be defrauded into buying a product thinking it is made by the trademark holder. In this case no reasonable person would suppose that the university sponsors the prison, so there’s no possibility of confusion and thus no breach of trademark.