University of Texas sues over use of “sawed-off” horns logoJanuary 22, 2007

The University of Texas has sued Aggieland Outfitters, a retailer in College Station, Texas (home of rival university Texas A&M) over its use of a modified version of the Texas Longhorns logo. The original logo and the modified version appear below:

The retailer has been selling merchandise bearing the "sawed off" logo since 1997, but Texas did not object until it filed suit on December 4, 2006. Interestingly, this was just ten days after Texas A&M beat Texas in football, keeping Texas out of the Big 12 title game. Texas asserts that use of the "sawed off" logo creates a likelihood of confusion between Aggieland's goods and goods authorized by the University of Texas. For its part, Aggieland Outfitters claims the use of the Longhorns logo is parody, and therefore protected under the First Amendment. Trademark law is always in tension with the First Amendment, so it will be intriguing to see how this rivalry plays out.