Battle of the Wolves Between NC State and University of Nevada Reno

North Carolina State University's "Toughie" Mr. Wuf logo may have an unwanted relative at the University of Nevada at Reno. According to the Technician, the student newspaper at North Carolina State University, the university may take legal action against the University of Nevada for its use of the "Toughie" trademark.

Cindy Sears, director of NCSU's trademark licensing, told the Technician that she has never seen an incident of possible infringements with another university in her tenure of more than 10 years at NCSU. However, the News & Observer reports North Carolina State University handles around 10 infringement cases per year on nearly 15 registered trademarks.

After receiving an email tip from a fan on a possible trademark infringement, Sears pulled up the University of Nevada's online gift store to find a very familiar face clad with a navy blue top hat.

According to the News & Observer, the University of Nevada sells caps, spirit flags, door mats, floor mats, and even steering wheel covers bearing the navy blue image resembling NCSU's Toughie. NCSU trademarks two versions of Toughie, a "strutting wolf" pose, and a mug shot.

Another striking similarity between the two universities involves the mascot of each school. North Carolina State University is represented by the Wolfpack, while the University of Nevada at Reno is represented by the Wolf Pack - two words. The Technician reports that the National Collegiate Athletic Association has over 1,000 member schools, yet only two - NCSU and Nevada - have mascots involving wolves.

As the News & Observer reports, North Carolina State University has sent notice to the University of Nevada, but a response had not been received as of June 6. According to Cindy Sears, "fashion colors" of the logo are covered under NCSU's trademark.

Cindy Sears also stated in an interview with the Technician, "To me this is a huge infringement... This is the type of thing we'd turn over to legal counsel."

Legally, North Carolina State University owns the federal trademark, which was filed in 2005. The Technician reports the first use of the Toughie image was claimed in 1965, allowing NCSU to retroactively claim the logo since 1965.

Kurt Esser, associate athletic director for marketing and communication at the University of Nevada, said he hadn't heard anything about the infringement as of Tuesday. He told the News & Observer, "I've seen [the Nevada wolf] on game logos since the 1980s."

Emails from the Technician to the University of Nevada and to its agent, Collegiate Licensing Company, were unreturned for two weeks before press-time.

Patrick Clark. "War of the logos." Technician Online. URL: (http://media.www.technicianonline.com/media/storage/paper848/news/2007/05/31/News/War-Of.The.Logos-2910366.shtml).

John Shaffer. "NCSU to Nevada Reno: Give us Toughie back" News & Observer. URL: (http://www.newsobserver.com/news/story/593180.html).