WILLIAMSPORT — The CEO and founder of a company sued by Penn State for trademark infringement gave federal court jurors a glimpse into how his direct-to-consumer Vintage Brand business works.

Chad Hartvigson explained Friday in US Middle District Court that Penn State images appearing on Vintage Brand merchandise come from his collection of university pins, programs, tickets, pennants, stickers and decals

His testimony came on the fourth day of the trial as the defense began to present its case. He will return to the stand on Monday for cross-examination.

The parties have determined that Vintage Brand, Sportswear Inc. and Hartvigson do not have a license to use any of Penn State’s trademarks.

Sportswear, of which Hartvigson owns 30 percent, takes orders from Vintage Brand, applies the vintage artwork and ships the product directly to the consumer. The e-commerce company has a facility in Kentucky.

Penn State claims that the defendants are infringes its trademarks but they claim that the university-related historical images are in the public domain.

Hartvigson noted the affiliation, licensing, sponsorship and endorsement disclaimers when jurors viewed images of Vintage Brand products taken from its website.

The site has more than 350 team pages, including one from 2018 to 2021 titled “Penn State Nittany Lions Vintage Designs.” It was taken down when Penn State sued.

Jurors have heard David Franklyn, an expert hired by the university, say that he concluded from his research that many consumers who buy Vintage Brand merchandise believe they are supporting Penn State.

The defense presented its own expert, David Neal, who, after reviewing Franklyn’s research, found it fatally flawed and not scientifically reliable.

Sportswear, which does business as Prep Sportswear, was almost dropped from the case.

Brann issued a non-infringement judgment late Thursday, finding that the manufacture of infringing products alone is insufficient to establish direct infringement liability.

Penn State asked the judge early Friday to reconsider his order, noting that Sportswear is also the exclusive distributor of Vintage Brand merchandise.

Before the trial resumed Friday, Brann announced that Sportswear will remain indicted at least through the conclusion of the defense’s case. That will allow time for the submission of briefs, he said.

The defendants also sought judgment as a matter of law, arguing that Penn State had not presented “a preponderance of the evidence” that designs printed on clothing and other merchandise serve the purposes of trademark law.

Although Penn State presented witnesses who explained why they purchased items that featured images of the university, none provided a reason that involved trademark protection, they argued.

The parties agreed that Vintage Brand sold 1,269 products through its Penn State Nittany Lions store vintagebrand.com for which it received $23,219 in revenue.

Hartvigson is a sports enthusiast who played outfield on the 1982 Kirkland, Washington, Little League World Series winning team in South Williamsport and went on to play minor league baseball reaching the AAA level.