Texas A&M University is seeking an injunction against the Seattle Seahawks alleging that they are infringing on their trademark of the 12th Man. They registered the trademark in the 1990's after having invented the tradition in the 1920's. It should be interesting to see how this one turns out.

http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/wire?section=nfl&id=2312742

I was going to say that it's a pretty generic expression, but maybe that's because they've been using it since the 20s.

Seattle is going to NEED the 12th man when they play Pittspuke,
who plays smashmouth of the worst kind, but effective--just this side of legal.

Defending a trademark against becoming a generic expression can be tricky. It requires eternal vigilance and much legal action. Kleenex, for example, has become a generic expression although it started as a trademark. Coke fights a continuing battle against the same. It will be interesting to see how this turns out.

Originally posted by rendova
Seattle is going to NEED the 12th man when they play Pittspuke,
who plays smashmouth of the worst kind, but effective--just this side of legal.

Of course, that's what they're paying them to do.

Originally posted by Imagineer
Defending a trademark against becoming a generic expression can be tricky. It requires eternal vigilance and much legal action. Kleenex, for example, has become a generic expression although it started as a trademark. Coke fights a continuing battle against the same. It will be interesting to see how this turns out.

Indeed. A lot of lawsuits of this type are mainly attempts to demonstrate that they're defending their trademark rather than an attempt to cash in.

One of my law school books had a list of dead trademarks - I recall that "aspirin" used to be a trademark.

It's the cost of success. If you have such brand recognition that your trademark becomes the word for the product you lose the rights to control it. I believe you are right about asprin starting as a trademark. I seem to recall that "elevator" was also originally a trademark.

The legend behind the Aggie's Twelfth man is actually fairly interesting. I especially enjoyed how the Twelfth Man still exists in some way, shape or form to this day. Note the last paragraph about how a couple of Aggie coaces in the 80s used regular students as players. The tradition of the Twelfth Man was born on the second of January 1922, when an underdog Aggie team was playing Centre College, then the nation's top ranked team. As the hard fought game wore on, and the Aggies dug deeply into their limited reserves, Coach Dana X. Bible remembered a squad man who was not in uniform. He had been up in the press box helping reporters identify players. His name was E. King Gill, and was a former football player who was only playing basketball. Gill was called from the stands, suited up, and stood ready throughout the rest of the game, which A&M finally won 22-14. When the game ended, E. King Gill was the only man left standing on the sidelines for the Aggies. Gill later said, "I wish I could say that I went in and ran for the winning touchdown, but I did not. I simply stood by in case my team needed me."

This gesture was more than enough for the Aggie Team. Although Gill did not play in the game, he had accepted the call to help his team. He came to be thought of as the Twelfth Man because he stood ready for duty in the event that the eleven men on the gridiron needed assistance. That spirit of readiness for service, desire to support, and enthusiasm helped kindle a flame of devotion among the entire student body; a spirit that has grown vigorously throughout the years. The entire student body at A&M is the Twelfth Man, and they stand during the entire game to show their support. The 12th Man is always in the stands waiting to be called upon if they are needed.

This tradition took on a new look in the 1980's when Coach Jackie Sherrill started the 12th Man Kick-Off Team composed of regular students through open tryouts. This 12th Man team performed very well and held opponents to one of the lowest yards per return averages in the league. Later, Head Coach R.C. Slocum changed the team to allow only one representative of the 12th Man on the kick off team. The 12th Man tradition also took musical form. The 12th Man sings this song after each game in which the Aggies are outscored.

http://aggietraditions.tamu.edu/12thman.shtml