Texas A&m sued the Indianapolis Colts on Thursday for infringing on their trademark of “12th man.”
The lawsuit was filed in district court in Houston and alleges that Texas A&M first contacted the Colts about using the phrase “12th Man” in 2006 and sent them a cease-and-desist letter, according to ESPN. In 2008, the Colts retired the “12th Man” in their ring of honor and they were warned again by Texas A&M. The Colts have also used “12th Man” to sell merchandise and in email advertisements to sell tickets.
"Texas A&M University is the Home of the 12th Man which has brought our fan base national renown," Texas A&M president Michael K. Young said in a statement. "We would prefer not to file lawsuits to protect our trademarks. However, when our intellectual property, especially the 12th Man mark which is so important to our students and former students, is used without our permission after repeated attempts to engage on the matter, we are left with no choice."
This isn’t the first time that Texas A&M has filed a lawsuit to protect their “12th Man” trademark. The school had previously sued the Seattle Seahawks for infringing on the trademark. In 2006, they reached a settlement that allows the Seahawks to use some versions of the phrase, according to the Associated Press.
The Seahawks pay the school $5,000 a year to license the phrase and that expires in June 2016.
Texas A&M began using the phrase “12th Man” in 1922 when E. King Gill, who was a student, came out of the stands, got in uniform and was ready to play if he was called into action. The school has four registered trademarks to “12th Man,” which was first trademarked in 1990.