Oklahoma State Sues New Mexico State over School's Mascot

There can only be one Pistol Pete in this town, so claims Oklahoma State University, which has filed a lawsuit against New Mexico State University claiming copyright infringement on its mascot.   

According to Lysee Mitri of KRQE.com, Oklahoma State claims New Mexico State's logo—which it calls Classic Aggie—is "confusingly similar" to the one it has used since the 1920s. The suit claims New Mexico State has refused to comply with a cease and desist letter.

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"Oklahoma State University owns incontestable federal trademark registrations for its Pistol Pete marks," an Oklahoma State statement read in part. "For more than 80 years, Oklahoma State has continuously used marks depicting Pistol Pete. The university is strongly opposed to any effort to infringe upon its trademarks and will take the necessary steps to protect its rights to the Pistol Pete marks."

The Pistol Pete character is named after Frank Eaton, a famous gunfighter of the 1800s who died in 1958. Eaton has close ties to the state of Oklahoma, where he was among the early settlers and settled in the city of Perkins. Oklahoma State adopted the Pistol Pete logo in the 1920s, and New Mexico State later paid OSU royalties beginning in the 1960s in exchange for the similar logo.

New Mexico State moved on from the logo cited in the lawsuit a decade ago. The new logo has no resemblance to Oklahoma State's Pistol Pete character and has been in use since 2004. In a statement released to Mitri, New Mexico State said it hopes to reach a settlement that will allow both universities to keep their current mascots:

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We have just learned that OSU has filed a lawsuit claiming it has exclusive rights to the character some call Pistol Pete and which we here at NMSU call Classic Aggie. The basic character has served as mascots for both schools—OSU and NMSU—for many decades.  We were surprised that OSU took this step, but are in communication with its legal and academic representatives and are confident that good sense will prevail and that this court action will lead to an agreement that will allow both schools to carry on their respective uses of characters that are part of their academic and athletic traditions.

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As noted by Mike Fiammetta of SB Nation, this is not the first time Oklahoma State has sued another university over the Pistol Pete likeness. The University of Wyoming and Oklahoma State battled over likeness issues for much of the early 1990s before coming to an agreement to both keep the logo.

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