Logos and Licenses
Category: Economy & Business...
Posted Monday, May 08, 2006 at 09:01 PM [GMT-6]

I'm sure that everyone has heard by now that Apple successfully staved off a challenge by the Beatles's record label, Apple Corps, to the computer company's use of the the Apple logo on the iTunes Music Store. But that wasn't the day's only resolution of an ongoing dispute involving a trademarked item.

Texas A&M University (my alma mater, and that of MLB, my dad, my brother and an uncle) announced today that it had finalized a licensing agreement to allow the Seattle Seahawks football team to legally use the university's "12th Man" trademark. According to the news release:

Under the agreement, the university has granted the NFL team a license to use the 12th Man trademark in a seven-state area in the northwest that encompasses the current primary broadcast area of the Seahawks. As is the case of all licensees, the Seattle Seahawks will pay the university a licensing fee and will state publicly that Texas A&M owns the 12th Man trademark each time it is used.

The Seahawks organization had essentially thumbed its nose at A&M's polite requests to either discontinue using its trademark or to agree to reasonable licensing terms, so the university took 'em to court. In the process, it caught some flak for making a big deal out of what many apparently thought was a trivial matter. The news release addressed this in a typically spirited fashion:

It is hard for non-Aggies-and the media-to understand the depth of what the 12th Man reference and depiction-and the underlying tradition - means to Texas A&M and as a result, the university was criticized for vigorously opposing use of the trademark by the Seahawks. As you know, the 12th Man is more than a trademark, greater than football and certainly more than changing the course of a football game. The 12th Man is a call to action for Aggies. It symbolizes loyalty and our unique Aggie Spirit. It creates friendships where none existed before, heals wounds that seemed to be beyond repair and creates a common language that Aggies speak all over the world.

It should be noted that A&M began using the "12th Man" term in 1922, and registered two trademarks for its use in the 1990s.

I wouldn't try to draw too many conclusions from this, although it does seem to confirm one rather obvious warning to those who would try to take advantage of the normally easygoing Lone Star style. Whatever you do, amigo, don't mess with Texas.

Oh, I think that's trademarked.

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Comments

"...Texas A&M University (my alma mater..." Well that explains alot. :)

Posted by: John Peter Smith at May 8, 2006 09:36 PM

"He said with a hushed tone of awe and respect in his voice."

Yeah, I get that a lot.

Posted by: Eric at May 8, 2006 09:40 PM

Okay, that press release goes beyond mere hyperbole to ... the land of "'Twas a dark and stormy night."

Posted by: bryan at May 8, 2006 09:55 PM

Bryan, you haven't spent much time around Aggies, have you? ;-)

Posted by: Eric at May 8, 2006 10:02 PM

Oh, and I suppose I should point out that this particular release targeted former students (no such thing as an ex-Aggie, you know), and so the hyperbole is just so much "preaching to the choir."

Posted by: Eric at May 8, 2006 10:06 PM

So Aggies are like Marines? Interesting.

As a non-Aggie, non-football person (I'm thinking the Seahawks are a football team, right? Not baseball? I figured this out all on my own by the letters NFL being in there. I'm pretty sure they stand for Non-Football-Lover)...hmm, ever go off on a tangent and forget what you were going to say? This is essentially my life.

Nope. It's gone. Alright. Instead I'll just say "Fascinating." and hmmmm as if I understood what all the fuss was about.

Posted by: beth at May 9, 2006 06:49 AM

So Aggies are like Marines?

I'll resist the urge to say that it's the other way around, but, yes, you've got the general picture.

Posted by: Eric at May 9, 2006 08:48 AM
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