“It’s not something we target, and it’s not something we look for,” said Jim Aronowitz, associate general counsel for the Collegiate Licensing Company, which represents about 160 colleges and universities. “But when it comes to our attention or our client’s attention, as trademark owners, there is a responsibility to address these issues.”

High schools have recently become more vigilant in protecting their designs as well, albeit on a smaller scale. Some stores sold unlicensed merchandise bearing logos of high schools, and the schools did not receive royalties.

So last year, the Licensing Resource Group and the National Federation of State High School Associations created a merchandising program. But as more schools join, the risk increases that some will be discovered selling apparel that bears logos similar to those owned by universities.

Although it seems the universities are motivated by money when they approach schools that are supplementing their dwindling athletic budgets, that is not necessarily the case.

“If they systematically don’t protect their rights, then down the road someone who does really want to rip them off could theoretically have a defense,” said Marty Brochstein, senior vice president of the International Licensing Industry Merchandisers’ Association. “They could say, ’Well, if you didn’t protect the mark then, why are you protecting it now?’ ”

For many years, it was difficult for universities to learn of infringements. If a high school in North Dakota had a logo that was similar to one owned by a university in North Carolina, it likely went unnoticed. Today, logos are just a click away.

Glades Day School’s logo came under scrutiny after its state championship football game was televised last December. At Buna High, the assistant principal Nathan Ross said a Penn State supporter found the school’s design online and reported it.