On Wednesday, December 3, 2014, Oklahoma State University and New Mexico State University defuse their duel over the classic ‘Pistol Pete’ mascot with a nominal licensing agreement.
OSU originally brought the copyright infringement lawsuit back in October, protecting its 80 year old trademark from the similar-looking classic NMSU logo. In 2005, NMSU began to phase out the classic logo in favor of a widely unaccepted, but modernized ‘Lasso Larry.’ The New Mexico State Aggies now use an updated version of a pistol-toting cowboy that avoids any confusion with OKSU’s ‘Pistol Pete.’
To protect Oklahoma’s trademark and still offer the classic logo to NMSU alumni, the schools reached a licensing agreement. New Mexico State will pay $10 per year for rights to sell items with the classic logo. The agreement restricts such sale to the school’s bookstore or online retail space. Additionally, NMSU can only distribute up to 3,000 items containing the classic logo per year.