‘Pistol Pete’ the target of trademark battle

Oklahoma State University (OSU) has claimed that a collection of products sold by New Mexico State University (NMSU) bears a logo that is confusingly similar to its ‘Pistol Pete’ trademark.

OSU filed the suit against NMSU at the US District Court for the Western District of Oklahoma, asking that all products allegedly infringing the trademark be removed from sale.

The university also claims that cease-and-desist letters that it sent to NMSU about the apparent use of the trademark have been ignored.

The ‘Pistol Pete’ trademark is based on the real-life sheriff Frank Eaton who was born in Connecticut, but later settled in Perkins, Oklahoma. The logo displays an image of a man with a cowboy hat, bow leggings and two revolvers.

OSU claims ‘Pistol Pete’ has been the official mascot of the university since the 1920s. However, in the 1960s OSU and NMSU entered into a licensing deal over the use of the mascot and used similar logos until 2006.

After 2006, NMSU retained the mascot but rebranded the logo with a cowboy only visible from his head to his waist, with ‘Aggie New Mexico State’ written in capitals underneath.

The OSU is now unhappy that NMSU is allegedly selling goods that use the old-style ‘Pistol Pete’ logo.

A statement from Oklahoma State University said: “Oklahoma State University owns incontestable federal trademark registrations for its ‘Pistol Pete’ marks ... For more than 80 years, OSU 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,” it added.

NMSU said: “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.”