by Matt Lamb
The University of Cincinnati successfully bullied a middle school 286 miles away from dropping its “Bearcats” name.
Now, Xavier University is stepping in to help out Cheatham Middle School in Ashland City, Tennessee.
“Recently, the Cheatham County School District received a Cease-and-Desist letter, on behalf of the University of Cincinnati, regarding copyright and licensing infringements by Cheatham Middle School,” the school announced on Facebook last Friday.
“We submitted a proposal to the University agreeing to remove the logo and create a new one but have now been denied and informed that the school can also no longer use or refer to themselves as the ‘Bearcats’, as they also own a sports licensing copyright for that word as well,” the school stated.
Xavier, a Catholic university in Cincinnati, said its nickname “is available for Cheatham Middle School or any other school to adopt should they desire to,” according to The Tennessean.
Marketing executive Anthony Breen works with Xavier and offered to help Cheatham redesign if it would use the “Musketeers” name.
The University of Cincinnati said it was trying to protect its copyright.
“When we or our licensing agency, the Collegiate Licensing Company (CLC), identify infringing activity, the other party is contacted to educate them about the University’s rights and request they stop using the marks,” a spokesperson for the university told The Cincinnati Enquirer. “As part of this process, we requested CMS to identify the various ways in which they have adopted UC’s identity so we can understand the full scale of what is involved to address the matter.”
The university denied the school had requested permission.
“Just as many other universities and recognizable brands make significant investment to protect their own marks, we reserve the right for exclusive use of the UC marks,” the school stated. “We understand this may cause some inconveniences, but we have a responsibility to preserve and protect the University’s rights to its marks.”
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Matt Lamb is the associate editor at The College Fix. Lamb has previously worked at Students for Life of America, Students for Life Action and Turning Point USA.
