University officials have asked the creator of a student-run Web site to immediately stop distributing his advertising materials, which they say use a UCSD Bookstore trademark in violation of state law.

In a letter sent to Earl Warren College senior Jeremy Jung, Campus Counsel Ann Parode stated that the clip-art image of an anthropomorphic book improperly implied an association between his GetTextbooks.com Internet page and UCSD Bookstore.

“Even if we’re not a commercial institution, we still take our trademarks very seriously,” Julie Conner, the associate campus counsel said. “Jeremy is by no means being singled out.”

Jung, whose Web site provides free comparisons of book prices from 50 online retailers, said he was careful to make his service without using any protected designs.

“When I first created the site, I had read about some of the other sites using UCSD in the name. I made sure not to do that,” Jung said.

Jung said he was not familiar with UCSD Bookstore symbol when he got his own clip-art from a Web-based clip-art vendor Jupitermedia, through a paid subscription.

Under his license agreement with the vendor, Jung may use the images he purchased “as part of marketing, advertising or promotional materials, including print ads, mailers, handouts and packaging.”

“Our concern was that because the logo was so similar, and the logo was representing the Web site, there would be confusion in the marketplace because people would think that the Web site was a service that the bookstore was offering,” John Turk, director of UCSD Bookstore said.

Turk said he contacted the campus counsel after seeing an emblem very similar to the one used by UCSD Bookstore on the back of Jung’s vehicle.

University officials said UCSD Bookstore developed its logo six years ago, but it is not registered with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office or the listing maintained by the California Secretary of State’s office. Very few UC campuses go through the “extensive process” necessary to acquire registration, Conner said.

However, according to the federal U.S. Code, trademarks do not need to be officially registered to receive legal protection. Under the statutes, a business cannot use a symbol to market its products if it is so similar to another that it may potentially confuse consumers. The protection applies only if both businesses in question provide analogous products and services, Conner said.

While Jung legally purchased the right to print the symbol in his promotions, Conner said his use of it to market a service like the one provided by UCSD Bookstore meets the “confusingly similar” threshold of the law.

“I think they are [confusingly similar], but it’s subject to opinion,” Conner said. “That’s what a judge would decide.”

The university has no objections to the clip-art service, which owns the actual image, because it does not offer any services students can find at UCSD Bookstore, Conner said.

Mary Ann Boland, a spokesman for Jupitermedia, which owns the clip-art service, did not respond to requests for comment.

Jung said he has not yet decided if he will comply with the university’s request, which would leave him with about $8 worth of unusable advertising material and the poster for his truck. He would also pay a $20 administrative and legal fee to a proxy service he used to register his domain, due to campus officials contacting the company to obtain his identity.

With 1,000 hits daily on his Web site at its peak, Jung said his “student-friendly” and free service provides useful benefits for the student body by finding the cheapest available book prices.

Though some of the retailers pay him a commission for sales made through his site, the majority do not, according to Jung. He claims he has earned only roughly enough money to cover his expenses, Jung said, explaining that he did not start the service as a business.

According to Conner, UCSD Bookstore has been aggressive about protecting its designs, with at least six letters like Jung’s sent out within the last two years to other individuals using logos similar to UCSD Bookstore’s trademark. After being notified, all six complied with the university’s request, she said.

The campus bookstore also wants to guard its reputation, Turk said.

“The main reason that we want to protect the trademarks is that if [they] are used by organizations we don’t know about, we risk losing control of the trademarks and damage to our image,” he said.

Though Jung said he’s not sure if the laws cited by Parode apply to his service, since he doesn’t directly sell books but simply provides prices, he believes he would not likely win against the university.

“I am a senior and I really want to graduate,” Jung said. “If at the end it’s going to require a court battle, I don’t see it as feasible for me. I’m under no illusion that I have the means to compete against [the university].”