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COLLEGE STATION, TEXAS: Aggieland Outfitters, located near the campus of Texas A&M University, announced today its owners have successfully settled a lawsuit brought by The University of Texas to stop sales of merchandise bearing the “SAW ‘EM OFF” logo, which parodies UT’s longhorn mascot.

In the settlement, UT agreed that Fadi Kalaouze and his parent company Kalcorp could continue using the “SAW ‘EM OFF” logo, if they made minor changes that further distinguished it from UT’s longhorn trademark. The agreed-upon changes include adding a small blaze and nostrils to the steer’s face.

“I am very happy with this settlement, “ says Fadi Kalaouze. “Most importantly, with this settlement Aggies will have the right to wear “SAW ‘EM OFF” shirts and poke fun at UT forever. We only had to make minor changes to our logo, and were able to stand our ground by not paying any royalties to UT for either past or future sales.”

For nearly a decade, Fadi and Hege Kalaouze, owners of Aggieland Outfitters, have sold clothing and other products with the now-famous image of a longhorn with its horns cut off and the legend “SAW ‘EM OFF.” The logo embodies the Aggie War Hymn’s call to “Saw Varsity’s horns off.” Varsity being the original name of UT’s longhorn mascot, now called Bevo. Ten days after A&M’s stunning football victory over the Longhorns in 2006, UT sued Fadi Kalaouze and Kalcorp Enterprises, alleging “SAW ‘EM OFF” mutilated UT’s longhorn trademark and caused confusion among consumers.

Kalaouze and Kalcorp, represented by Allan Van Fleet of the Greenberg Traurig law firm, answered that the SAW ‘EM OFF logo is a clear parody protected by the First Amendment and demonstrated that no one has ever been confused into thinking that “SAW ‘EM OFF” products were sponsored by UT.

“Fadi and I want to personally thank everyone who supported our efforts to save the “SAW EM OFF” tradition,” says Hege Kalaouze. “We could not have done this without the Aggie community behind us, and are forever grateful for everyone’s support and kind words. Gig’em Ags!”

For pictures of the new logo and background please visit:
http://www.prnewswire.com/mnr/sawemoff/26574/

It’s wise to take care when using a phrase such as “in actual law” on a blog written by a group of law professors. “In actual law,” there is no requirement that anyone send a cease and desist letter before filing a lawsuit.

I agree with Mark that the “12th man” suit against the Seahawks was silly. Merely claiming a trademark and describing a college tradition doesn’t give you legal rights against anyone. It’s not worth belaboring the point further; Mark teaches trademark law for a living and knows what he’s talking about.

To Mark, yes Texas A&M University was involved in a legal battle with the Seattle Seahawks a few years back over the 12th Man. The difference in that case was that A&M owns the trademark and has done so for years. They sent numerous letters to Seattle asking them to stop using the trademarked phrase, but they never did. So then, Texas A&M was justified in taking legal action. Something you probably never heard about that particular case was that numerous other teams were using the 12th Man as well, but when contacted by Texas A&M and notified of the trademark, they all stopped. Seattle was the only team that did not, and charges were filed.

Saw ‘Em Off will live forever!

So it’s not so funny when it’s your own mascot. A&M is for farmers and idiots. University of Texas is the birthplace of all that is cool, also the infinite time defending champion of the Lonestar Showdown