Why does the school system need a trademark lawyer?

The Lafayette Parish School System is poised to spend thousands of dollars in legal fees because of a trademark issue.

The school board agreed last week to hire the law firm of Roy Kiesel Ford Doody & Thurmon of Baton Rouge to represent the district in front of the federal Trademark Trial and Appeal Board.

Court documents show that the dispute is between the school district and United Way Worldwide.

The United Way has a longstanding program called “Success by 6,” which focuses on early childhood education and literacy development. The organization owns a trademark for the “Success by 6” name and mark, according to court documents.

In October 2014, the Lafayette Parish School System established the “Success by 5 Alliance” to provide training to teachers and child care providers, particularly those who work with children before they reach kindergarten. The school system has a serial number for the “Success by 5 Alliance” name, according to court documents.

The United Way is now opposing the school system’s effort to register the “Success by 5 Alliance,” as a trademark, contending that people are likely to confuse the two programs because of their similar names and services.

Barring a settlement or agreement between the two parties, the matter could linger in the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board for more than a year, according to a timeline provided in the documents. The school board has until Sept. 16 to issue a formal answer to the United Way’s opposition, thus setting off a potentially lengthy process of discovery, disclosures and rebuttals.

According to the resolution approved by the school board, the law firm will be paid at the maximum hourly rates allowed by the state for a special counsel.

Under Louisiana law, attorneys can be paid $225 per hour if they have 10 or more years of legal experience; $175 per hour if they have five to 10 years of experience; $150 per hour if they have three to five years of experience and $125 per hour if they have less than three years of legal experience.

The law also allows for payments of $60 per hour for paralegal services and $40 per hour for law clerk services.

Over the past two years, legal costs for the school system have been escalating. Last fiscal year, the district allocated $440,000 for legal fees, and also paid nearly $90,000 for a school-board ordered investigation of former Superintendent Pat Cooper, litigation involving Cooper and his termination proceedings.