Jun 11, 2008 9:06 pm US/Mountain
Some Convention Merchandise Might Not Be Legal
DENVER (CBS4) ―
Around 50,000 people are expected to flock to Denver this August for the Democratic National Convention. When they leave, chances are they will want a souvenir of the historic event, and souvenirs are already on sale.
With all the souvenirs that are sure to be for sale, certain questions came up.
"Can anybody just create and sell Barack Obama and DNC souvenirs?" CBS4's Rick Sallinger asked. "Or do you need a license to sell convention related kitsch?"
Kroenke Sports purchased the license to sell merchandise from the Denver National Host Committee.
"People want a part of the convention that actually says 'Denver' on it," said Brian Kitts, Kroenke Sports Spokesman.
Besides caps, there are t-shirts, key chains, glasses, commemorative mouse pads and there are even "Denver2008" Frisbees.
"There was a bid process and Altitude Premium Consulting put in a bid and ended up winning the process," Kitts said.
However, in a Denver garage, Sallinger found Obama t-shirts, "Denvercrat" hats and much more on sale. All the products were locally designed and the sellers insist no license bidding was necessary. Sallinger asked the designer of the merchandise, Christina Eyre, if she had been in touch with the Obama camp about selling it.
"The problem the campaign had, which is a good problem to have, is they couldn't keep anything in stock," Eyre said.
The Obama campaign is telling sellers it's fine to come up with a unique design, but not to use the official campaign logo.
So the "Obamawear" and "Denvercrat" merchandise has been going like hotcakes, especially at the state Democratic convention.
"The lines started and they did not stop for 12 hours," said Julie Rubsam, Denvercrat Marketing Director. "We sold 600 t-shirts, lots of pins, post cards."
It's is just the start of what's expected to be a convention sales frenzy.
Those who create their own convention souvenirs are walking a fine line. Companies like Kroenke will be making sure others aren't hawking what they paid for the right to sell.
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