New College of Florida sends legal warning to opposition 'Alt New College' group

EDUCATION

New College of Florida sends legal warning to opposition 'Alt New College' group

https://www.heraldtribune.com/story/news/education/2023/09/29/ron-desantis-richard-corcoran-new-college-of-florida-takes-legal-action-against-alt-new-college/71008337007/

Steven Walker
Sarasota Herald-Tribune

New College of Florida sent a cease and desist letter to an online learning platform run by several ex-students and campus leaders on Thursday.

Alt New College, established just weeks ago through the New York-based Bard College, is "an online institute to support the academic freedom of faculty and students following the hostile takeover of New College of Florida," according to the organization's website.

It faces legal action claiming the organization infringed on the "New College" trademark.

The cease-and-desist letter sent by the Miami-based law firm Malloy & Malloy, directs the organization to remove any mention of "New College" or "Alt New College" from its website or any other materials. It also directs Alt New College to transfer its website domain, altnewcollege.org, and social media handles, @altnewcollege, to the trademark holder.

The organization has until Oct. 6 to comply with the cease-and-desist letter's directions before further legal action is taken, according to the letter.

“Imitation is the best form of flattery,” said New College spokesperson Nate March in a statement to the Herald-Tribune, “but in this case it’s highly illegal.”

The letter also included photo references to pages on the organization's website that refer to New College. As of Friday evening, the organization's website and social media pages were still active.

Alt New College representatives were not immediately available for comment.

{snip}