Franklin takes action on name confusion
In a decision by the institution’s board of trustees, Franklin College filed a lawsuit against Franklin University Monday to protect the name, reputation and trademark of the college.
Franklin College President James Moseley said the college was aware that confusion existed, but wanted to wait and see “if it would sort of go away by itself.”
But when Franklin University started advertising forcefully in central Indiana for classes in Castleton, and even recently began using the phrase “Franklin Indianapolis,” or simply “Franklin” in local and Internet advertising, Moseley said the confusion was too much.
“What we’ve discovered from students and alumni and employees ... [there’s] still just a lot of questions about whether we changed our name or whether we’re suddenly going into the online business. And then together with, I guess the increasingly generic, amorphous nature of Franklin University’s advertising, they’re really not distinguishing themselves clearly from the college,” Moseley said.
Moseley said the biggest problem is the almost identical names. With 90 percent of Franklin College’s students coming from Indiana, he said this predicament is “especially troublesome.”
The goal of the lawsuit is to end Franklin University’s advertising campaign in central Indiana, thereby removing any confusion between the two institutions.
The new Franklin University location, in the Allison Pointe Office Park on the northeast side of Indianapolis plans to offer classes beginning this fall, for adults aged 33 and older, doing mostly online work
Moseley said he believes Franklin University has been notified of the lawsuit and that Franklin College would be prepared to handle questions about the complaint.
In a press release, Moseley also described the similarities in the appearance of advertising messages used by Franklin University.
“Their ads include colors and a ’clock tower’ design amazingly similar to our logo,” he said.
“Right now this is exacerbated, I think, by Marion College becoming Marion University,” Moseley said. “That’s made people wonder what’s going on.”
