School district receipts show that more than $7,000 was spent to obtain the copyright and trademark of the Wimberley Texan Logo days after the first pride parade was held in the community.
The News-Dispatch obtained receipts from law firms involved that show the costs and dates spent on obtaining copyright and trademarks.
The Wimberley Pride Parade was held Sept. 21, 2019, and many parents posted pictures in the days following of the logo altered to show a rainbow background.
Records show that nin...
School district receipts show that more than $7,000 was spent to obtain the copyright and trademark of the Wimberley Texan Logo days after the first pride parade was held in the community.
The News-Dispatch obtained receipts from law firms involved that show the costs and dates spent on obtaining copyright and trademarks.
The Wimberley Pride Parade was held Sept. 21, 2019, and many parents posted pictures in the days following of the logo altered to show a rainbow background.
Records show that nine days after the parade, WISD paid Fowler law firm $422.50 for “logo, copyright.” This was the first transaction between WISD and Fowler law firm and the beginning of their process to obtain copyright and trademark.
In October of 2019, parents were asked to remove the logo from their social media in an email from Superintendent Dwain York.
On Halloween of last year, two separate transactions were made. The first was $195 for copyright and $650 for copyrighting the trademark.
The next day, $378.84 was spent on a “logo and media release” to Walsh Gallegos Trevino Russo & Kyle P.C., a law firm “dedicated to serving school districts,” according to its website.
It is unclear what the media release was for.
According to the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, Fowler law represented WISD to file the Wimberley Texan Logo with a square in the background on Nov. 12. The logo filed that day is the version that was altered with the pride flag in the backdrop.
At the end of November, the largest transaction was made of $5,120 for “logo and copyright.”
In December a second email was sent from York instructing parents to remove the altered logo post from social media by Jan. 6 or face “a cease and desist letter from the WISD attorney.”
At the end of December, $637.50 was paid to Fowler Law for “logo and copyright.”
On Jan. 23, WISD filed another logo featuring “a single star with five points,” according to the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.
York said he was advised by attorneys to abstain from making a comment until the legal situation is settled.
