Simply put, the name has cachet. Just say "Stanford" and you conjure up images of palm trees, Nobel prizes and laid-back class valedictorians riding mountain bikes. Electronic entrepreneurs have caught on, believing they can paste the name on their websites and then stand back and bask in its reflected glory, waiting for the bucks to roll in.
But University officials worry that the reflection may dim if anyone can launch a site that implies a Stanford connection. So they are boosting defenses against the increasing number of e-businesses trying to cash in on the name.
For example, a website hawking term papers went so far as to filch the "Stanford University" name from the school's home page, complete with the website banner and image of the Main Quad. When confronted, the site owners simply replaced "Stanford University" with "Stanford essays." "After we contacted them, this name quickly morphed to 'Stan's essays,' " Shelley Hébert, director of business development, said in a presentation to the Faculty Senate this winter. But even that version was objectionable, she said. "Now, all evidence [of Stanford] is gone."
A new University policy clarifies the rules governing the use of Stanford's name. It prohibits using the name to endorse a product, centralizes trademark registration, defines "appropriate use" of the Stanford name, establishes a policy for registering domain names that include "Stanford" and provides guidelines for faculty, staff and students. Hébert's office and the Office of the General Counsel review possible violations. At any one time, they are looking into 20 to 30 cases of trademark infringement.
The part of the policy on domain names deals with a uniquely Internet-era phenomenon. Cybersquatters have registered web addresses, including "Stanford.mba.com," "Stanfordfans.com" and "Stanfordfund.com," expecting they'll ultimately be able to profit from them. Pending federal legislation may eventually prevent such abuse. Meanwhile, Hébert and her colleagues will keep reminding entrepreneurs that they can't use Stanford to make a name for themselves.
