Florida Virtual School has the authority to sue to protect its trademarks, the state Supreme Court ruled Thursday.
The decision is the latest twist in a long-running legal battle between FLVS and online education company K12, Inc., Florida's two largest players in online education.
FLVS sued its rival provider for trademark infringement in 2011.
The suit argues K12 used names like Florida Virtual Academy and Florida Virtual Program, which were too similar to Florida Virtual School and caused "confusion" in the online education marketplace. As noted in this summary of the case by Education Week, however, K12 uses the name "virtual academy" in other states.
K12 argued the state virtual school did not have the authority to sue to protect its trademarks, since Florida law gives that authority to the Department of State. A federal appeals court asked the state Supreme Court to resolve that issue.
In Thursday's unanimous opinion, justices said Florida Virtual School has the power to sue to protect its trademarks and other intellectual property because, unlike some other government entities, state law gives FLVS all the powers of a corporation.
