Texas A&M on Thursday sued the Colts "for what the school is calling unauthorized use of the '12th Man' phrase," according to a front-page piece by Jake Walker of the Bryan-College Station EAGLE. Lawyers representing the school "claim the NFL team used the phrase in ticket and merchandise promotions after several cease and desist letters" dating back to '06. Lawyers also "list four incidents of what they call trademark infringement by the Colts, the most recent of which was in July." The Colts "sent an email promoting football tickets under the tag line 'Join the 12th Man,' and used the phrase '12th Man' to promote merchandise on its website." The Colts "responded" to an '06 letter, saying the team "wouldn't use the phrase on any goods covered by Texas A&M registrations, but didn't respond to a follow up and proposed agreement" in '08. Another cease and desist letter was sent in '12, but lawyers said that Texas A&M "never received a response" (Bryan-College Station EAGLE, 11/13). ESPN.com's Darren Rovell noted this is the "second time the Aggies have filed suit to protect their '12th Man' trademark," having filed suit against the Seahawks in '06. The result was a settlement that "allowed the Seahawks to license the phrase for $5,000 a year, but did not include the right to sell merchandise with the phrase on it." The Seahawks "renewed their '12th Man' license for the past 10 years" through June '16, though it "is not clear if they will continue to do so." The Bills have a "license from Texas A&M for '12th Man,' but it's only for extremely limited use inside the stadium" (ESPN.com, 11/12).
