The term “Ivy League” was coined in the 1930s by a sportswriter to collectively refer to Brown University, Columbia University, Cornell University, Dartmouth College, Harvard University, the University of Pennsylvania, Princeton University, and Yale University (collectively, the “Member Institutions”). In 1945, the Member Institutions formally adopted “The Ivy League” as the name of their intercollegiate football conference, and in 1954, the Ivy League conference was expanded to include all intercollegiate athletics at these institutions. Since the first “Ivy Group Agreement” was signed in 1945, the Member Institutions have maintained common practices in academic standards, eligibility requirements, and financial aid. 

Initially founded as an athletic conference, the Member Institutions of the Ivy League now coordinate closely in many areas, including undergraduate admissions announcements, academic research, bands, job fairs, alumni relations, and sustainability initiatives. The Member Institutions are some of the oldest and most prestigious academic institutions in the United States, and they are known around the country and worldwide for their academic excellence. 

The Ivy League and the Member Institutions have continuously and extensively used and promoted trademarks incorporating IVY LEAGUE and IVY throughout the decades since the association was founded. Both the Ivy League itself and all of the Member Institutions use THE IVY LEAGUE and IVY LEAGUE marks in connection with educational services. Each of the Member Institutions offers undergraduate and/or graduate degrees in a broad range of disciplines. The Member Institutions use THE IVY LEAGUE and IVY LEAGUE marks in a variety of contexts, including in order to identify themselves as members of the Ivy League, to compare themselves with other members of the Ivy League, and to identify the educational and extracurricular activities that they provide. Each Member Institution is commonly referred to by the public as an “Ivy League” school, the students who attend these institutions are commonly referred to as “Ivy Leaguers,” “Ivy League students,” or “Ivy League graduates,” and the academic programs that these institutions provide are commonly referred to as an “Ivy League” education or an “Ivy League” degree. There also is an Ivy League website at ivyleague.com which has been active since 1997.

The Member Institutions also are well-known for excellence in the medical field. All of the Member Institutions offer courses of study that prepare undergraduate students for medical education, and with the exception of Princeton University, each of the Member Institutions operates a medical school. Three of the Member Institutions also offer nursing programs: the University of Pennsylvania, Columbia, and Yale. The medical and nursing education programs offered by these Member Institutions are among the most highly respected and well-known in the country and the world. The Member Institutions use THE IVY LEAGUE and IVY LEAGUE marks to identify and promote their services in the area of medical education, nursing education, hospital care, and other health-related goods and services. Third parties likewise use THE IVY LEAGUE and IVY LEAGUE marks to refer to the Member Institutions' provision of medical and health-related services and medical, nursing, and health-related education. 

The Ivy League has also licensed THE IVY LEAGUE and IVY LEAGUE marks for use in a broad range of consumer product categories. For example, the Ivy League has licensed THE IVY LEAGUE and IVY LEAGUE marks for use on clothing, including t-shirts, polo shirts, sweatshirts, shorts, and hats, and IVY LEAGUE-branded products are sold through the Ivy League's website and at campus bookstores and at retail stores in the cities and towns where the Member Institutions are located. The Ivy League also has used THE IVY LEAGUE and IVY LEAGUE marks on a number of non-clothing consumer products, including baseballs, golf balls, pens, folders, mugs, pins, and jewelry. 

THE IVY LEAGUE and IVY LEAGUE marks have also received extensive unsolicited media coverage. Numerous third parties have used THE IVY LEAGUE and IVY LEAGUE marks to refer to the Ivy League and the Member Institutions. These sources include third-party media from around the United States and the world, including: (1) national television and radio broadcasts, such as ABC News, NBC News, Fox News, 60 Minutes, CBS Sports, ESPN, National Public Radio, and the Oprah Winfrey Show; (2) Internet websites and printed publications, including newspapers such as the New York Times, Washington Post, Boston Globe, Los Angeles Times, Detroit News, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, St. Louis Post Dispatch, Denver Post, Seattle Times, San-Jose Mercury News, San Diego Union Tribune, Daily Oklahoman, Austin-American Statesman, New Orleans Times-Picayune, Charlotte Observer, and Orlando Sentinel; and (3) popular press aimed at a wide variety of audiences, including Cosmopolitan, Glamour, Vogue, Playboy, Reader's Digest, and Motor Trend magazines. 

The term “Ivy League” is even listed in several dictionaries and other reference works as the proper collective name for the Member Institutions and as an adjective used to describe anything related to these institutions. “When a trademark attains dictionary recognition as part of the language, we take it to be reasonably famous.” B.V.D. Licensing v. Body Action Design, 846 F.2d 727, 728 (Fed. Cir. 1988); see also Nasdaq Stock Mkt., Inc. v. Antartica, S.R.L., Opp. No. 91121204, 2003 TTAB LEXIS 391, at *66-67 (TTAB 2003) (“The dictionary references, newspaper and magazine articles, and daily reports on opposer's stock market in print and broadcast media evidence very widespread recognition [of the NASDAQ mark].”). 

Unsurprisingly, in an opposition filed against the IV LEAGUE NURSE CONCIERGE, INC. composite mark for “intravenous (IV) hydration therapy services,” the TTAB found that THE IVY LEAGUE and IVY LEAGUE are household names, and for the purposes of dilution, famous marks. Council of Ivy Group Presidents v. IV League Nurse Concierge, Inc., Opposition No. 91285794 (TTAB May 8, 2025) (the above information about the term "Ivy League" was based on the trial declaration of Robin Harris, Executive Director for the Council of Ivy Group Presidents, submitted in the opposition). A mark is famous for dilution purposes “if it is widely recognized by the general consuming public of the United States as a designation of source of the goods or services of the mark's owner.” Trademark Act Section 43(c)(2)(A), 15 U.S.C. § 1125(c)(2)(A); see also Coach Servs. v. Triumph Learning LLC, 668 F.3d 1356, 1373 (Fed. Cir. 2012) (noting that when the general public encounters a famous mark “in almost any context, it associates the term, at least initially, with the mark's owner” (citation omitted)). 

But to find dilution, one must further find a likelihood of dilution. See Coach Servs. v. Triumph Learning LLC, 668 F.3d 1356, 1372 (Fed. Cir. 2012) (four elements for dilution by blurring are: (1) [the plaintiff] owns a famous mark that is distinctive; (2) the defendant is using a mark in commerce that allegedly dilutes the plaintiff's famous mark; (3) the defendant's use of its mark began after the plaintiff's mark became famous; and (4) the defendant's use of its mark is likely to cause dilution by blurring or by tarnishment). Blurring may occur “regardless of the presence or absence of actual or likely confusion, of competition, or of actual economic injury.” Omega SA (Omega AG) (Omega Ltd.) v. Alpha Phi Omega, Opp. No. 91197504, 2016 TTAB LEXIS 99, at *20 (TTAB 2016) (quoting 15 U.S.C. § 1125(c)(1)). 

To determine whether a mark is likely to cause dilution by blurring, the TTAB may consider:

(i) The degree of similarity between the mark or trade name and the famous mark.
(ii) The degree of inherent or acquired distinctiveness of the famous mark.
(iii) The extent to which the owner of the famous mark is engaging in substantially exclusive use of the mark.
(iv) The degree of recognition of the famous mark.
(v) Whether the user of the mark or trade name intended to create an association with the famous mark.
(vi) Any actual association between the mark or trade name and the famous mark.

15 U.S.C. § 1125(c)(2)(B)(i-vi).

The TTAB concluded that the first four of these factors weighed in favor of finding dilution, while the last two factors were neutral. Specifically, the THE IVY LEAGUE and IVY LEAGUE marks became famous prior to IV League Nurse Conierge's first use of its mark, and remain famous and inherently distinctive. The marks are sufficiently similar to one another that an association between the parties' marks likely to impair the distinctiveness of the famous IVY LEAGUE marks is established. The lack of evidence showing an intent to create an association with the IVY LEAGUE marks or that an actual association exists between the marks do not outweigh the other dilution factors. Viewing the evidence as a whole, we find that Applicant's mark is likely to dilute THE IVY LEAGUE and IVY LEAGUE marks under Trademark Act 43(c)(2)(B), 15 U.S.C. § 1125(c)(2)(B). 

By finding dilution by blurring, the TTAB did not need to reach the merits of the more fact-intensive likelihood of confusion issue under Section 2(d) of the Trademark Act. See N.Y. Yankees, 2015 TTAB LEXIS 96, at *47 (“Because we have found for Opposer on its dilution claims, we need not reach the merits of its claims under Sections 2(a) and 2(d) of the Trademark Act.”).