College Loses Royalties on Unsolicited Sales

Author: Paul Barnwell

With graduation approaching, many parents of Middlebury College seniors have begun ordering personalized announcements to mail to family and friends. But parents beware — the Middlebury sponsored company that sends out order forms, Herff Jones of Cohasset, Mass., was undermined by a competitor. Scholastic Recognition mailed order forms for personalized graduation announcements several weeks before Herff Jones sent its mailing to parents.

Bob Santry, manager of the Middlebury College Store, said he was tipped off when a parent called inquiring about the order forms before the College had mailed out the Herff Jones packages on Feb. 10. "We got a call from a parent early this year in January asking about the announcements. I said, 'Ours are being mailed out in two weeks, this is impossible,'" Santry explained.

Four years ago, Scholastic Recognition prematurely mailed unofficial graduation announcement order forms to senior parents. Student privacy is not the main issue here, Santry said, because the Middlebury College directory is considered public property. However, the College received royalty fees of $1,300 last year from Herff Jones. Scholastic Recognition is using the College's name and profiting from sales without paying any royalties, Santry explained. Some of the announcement and accessory packages cost in excess of $100.

The issue surrounding Scholastic Recognition has not caused many problems, Santry said, although he maintained that there should be some consistency in the use of the Middlebury College name and seal. "We want to keep business 'in house.' We should have control over any company that makes money off of the Middlebury name and seal, and also see some residual," he elucidated.

While Santry has yet to find contact information for or the location of Scholastic Recognition, he intends to send them a clear message. "We're trying to get a contact name and send out a standard 'cease and desist' letter, telling them they cannot use Middlebury College's name or seal without our permission," he said.

After Santry heard about the Scholastic Recognition order forms, he added an insert to the Herff Jones packages that explained the situation to parents.

"There has been some confusion stemming from a mailing you may have received recently from another company offering a similar service," the notice stated. "While you are certainly free to order from whomever you choose, please be aware that this [Herff Jones] is the 'official' Middlebury Graduation Announcement, and other mailing you may have received has not been sanctioned or approved by Middlebury College."