The story of Kingston College having a copyright for a part of its motto is true.
This article written by KC student Omar Clarke is reprinted from the Jamaica Observer’s TeenAge section.
For over a year now, the Kingston College Old Boys' Association (KCOBA) has copyrighted the famous 'Fortis' expression-the brave- from its motto, dating back some 80 years ago. This now means that any unauthorised person or companies who wish to earn from the 'Fortis' brand, can now be fined or imprisoned depending on the level of infraction.
Every year, especially now as the 'Champs' craze approaches, countless amounts of T-shirts, hats, flags and, now, wristbands are sold, without the school's consent and without it benefiting from these sales.
As one sixth former related, "Di business a gwaan good, di likkle man dem luv di ting dem bad." When asked about the possibility of him being fined, he responded, "Well, dat a just talk ting still, cause my ting dem still a sell off."
According to Richard Bowen, second vice-president of KCOBA, the reason behind the copywriting was as a result of the use of the brand on several products now being offered within corporate Jamaica, such as ICWI and VMBS, for example. Consequently, this move has also affected young entrepreneurs, like the previously mentioned, as they now have to be sanctioned by the KCOBA for use of the brand, or face the consequences.
The benefits to be gained from this initiative are numerous. According to Bowen, "The school is now better able to make business presentations to corporate Jamaica, which will in turn be beneficial to it in areas like football and track and field."
With that said, Bowen went on to mention that the school is currently in negotiations with several companies to possibly having its own brand of Fortis beverage, or even water!
"Ever since some genius realised that money could be made from using a school with the most envied camaraderie from present and past students, the rest has been history," said one old boy.
At any corner of the earth one may visit, it is said that the 'Fortis' bumper sticker can be seen on an array of motor vehicles, and there have even been reports of there being one on a tanker in Iraq!
