Love the USM vs MSU ad at top with old logo...ha
- Thread starter Wizard.sixpack
- Start date
Yea - they said they were going to stick with this when I pointed it out b/c all their TV and print uses this logo as well. They will change it for next year. I suggested using the baseball logo.
USM? I thought we were playing Iowa. **
Seriously, when Iowa first sued them, I thought it was ridiculous. Then one day I walked in to the old Abner's in Madison, looked at one of the big screens that had a basketball game on and my immediate thought was, "Oh, there's a USM game on, wonder how they're doing." Then I realized that wasn't USM, it was Iowa.
Seriously, when Iowa first sued them, I thought it was ridiculous. Then one day I walked in to the old Abner's in Madison, looked at one of the big screens that had a basketball game on and my immediate thought was, "Oh, there's a USM game on, wonder how they're doing." Then I realized that wasn't USM, it was Iowa.
Not endangered.......
Conservation status of the golden eagle is 'least concern'. Maybe you are thinking about golden eagle FANS. Now that is definitely an endangered species.
Conservation status of the golden eagle is 'least concern'. Maybe you are thinking about golden eagle FANS. Now that is definitely an endangered species.
USM is not really prohibited from using the logo, but they may as well be...
Just to be clear, I am a patent and trademark attorney, so I kinda know what went down. USM tried to register their logo with the US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). Iowa opposed registration of the mark, on the grounds that it was confusingly similar to their own logo. The Trademark Opposition panel, in a 2-1 decision, ruled that the logo was too "confusingly similar" (a legal term that does not necessarily mean what you think that it means) to be registered by the USPTO, so registration was denied. USM could have appealed that decision in Federal Court, but I am pretty sure they chose not to.
A denial of registration, however, does not prevent USM from going ahead and using their logo un-registered. Businesses use unregistered trademarks all the time. Registration is really nice to have if you ever need to sue someone for infringing your trademark, but otherwise its really not that big a deal.
So, in order to force USM from using the logo, Iowa would still need to sue USM in federal court for trademark infringement. Iowa would probably win that suit. For a trademark infringement suit, you have to prove the defendant's logo is "confusingly similar" to the plaintiff's logo. Since Iowa already has a ruling from the USPTO that the marks are confusingly similar, USM would have a really hard time convincing a judge that the USPTO made a mistake, particularly since USM did not appeal the decision. So Iowa would most likely get an injunction if they ever needed one.
My guess is that USM reached some type of agreement with Iowa to phase out their logo and just end everything.
Just to be clear, I am a patent and trademark attorney, so I kinda know what went down. USM tried to register their logo with the US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). Iowa opposed registration of the mark, on the grounds that it was confusingly similar to their own logo. The Trademark Opposition panel, in a 2-1 decision, ruled that the logo was too "confusingly similar" (a legal term that does not necessarily mean what you think that it means) to be registered by the USPTO, so registration was denied. USM could have appealed that decision in Federal Court, but I am pretty sure they chose not to.
A denial of registration, however, does not prevent USM from going ahead and using their logo un-registered. Businesses use unregistered trademarks all the time. Registration is really nice to have if you ever need to sue someone for infringing your trademark, but otherwise its really not that big a deal.
So, in order to force USM from using the logo, Iowa would still need to sue USM in federal court for trademark infringement. Iowa would probably win that suit. For a trademark infringement suit, you have to prove the defendant's logo is "confusingly similar" to the plaintiff's logo. Since Iowa already has a ruling from the USPTO that the marks are confusingly similar, USM would have a really hard time convincing a judge that the USPTO made a mistake, particularly since USM did not appeal the decision. So Iowa would most likely get an injunction if they ever needed one.
My guess is that USM reached some type of agreement with Iowa to phase out their logo and just end everything.
I like to stir trouble on eaglepost.com from time to time. That place is a genuine graveyard... A thread about football spring practice generated only about 4 posts a few days after it was started. One of which was mine and I was just there to make fun of them. After further reflection, I felt kinda bad. Almost like I was the middle school bully making fun of the kid with a speech impediment.
