They’d rather switch than fight

“Sometimes you recreate the wheel,’’ said Superintendent Michael Shea, then-principal of Greater New Bedford Regional Vocational Technical High School. “We knew what it was. People use college or pro insignias all the time. . . . We weren’t using it in a negative way or for profit.’’

Now, nearly 25 years later, the Blacksburg, Va., university is taking exception.

Over the summer, an agency Virginia Tech hired to protect its trademarks told Shea that his school’s “VT’’ symbol is “unauthorized and use must be discontinued.’’

“We feel that the high school’s use of the mark is confusingly similar to a trademark registered to Virginia Tech,’’ wrote Jack Landrigan of the Licensing Resource Group in Michigan.

Although the logos are identical in design, Virginia’s is maroon and orange; New Bedford’s is green.

“I was a little disappointed at first,’’ Shea said. But he decided to capitalize on the order rather than fight it.

“It’s a wonderful opportunity to move forward.’’

A visual design class, led by a teacher with a background in logo marketing, began crafting new logos in September.

The school’s staff and 2,100 students can vote tomorrow for one of eight student-created designs.

On Nov. 12, a six-person committee will choose the new logo, which will be unveiled on T-shirts and hats at an open house 10 days later.

The chain of events began when a Virginia Tech alum sent the high school logo to the university’s licensing director. Officials struggled with the decision to defend the exclusivity of the logo, which was created in the 1970s, according to university spokesman Larry Hincker.

“We know the difficulty it causes them,’’ Hincker said. “Then you get reminded you’ve got to protect your logo. That’s the thing that drives it, because if you don’t protect it, you could lose it.’’

Hincker said just having a trademark, which the school registered in 2000, is not enough.

“You have to have a record to protect against infringement,’’ he said. “Let’s say the next one comes along, and they’re using it identical to ours. They can say, ‘Well wait a minute, you knew about Voc-Tech and you let them.’ ’’

Shea said New Bedford is embracing the change. He wants the school to move toward a Greater New Bedford theme on its logo, and this time, he plans to trademark it.

“Hey, things change. It’s a positive thing,’’ he said.

And we’re a different school. Now we have the talent and the resources to come up with our own design.’’