CINCINNATI — One Tennessee middle school must choose a new mascot after the district's athletic department said they received a cease-and-desist letter on behalf of the University of Cincinnati.
The Cheatham County School District Athletic Department said they received the letter regarding copyright and licensing infringement by the Cheatham Middle School Bearcats, who were using a C-Paw logo identical to UC's. The district said they submitted a proposal to UC agreeing to remove their C-Paw logo and create a new one, but that proposal was denied and the school was told they "can also no longer use or refer to themselves as the 'Bearcats'" as UC also owns the trademark for the mascot name.
"We have been left with no reasonable choice but to rebrand and choose a new Cheatham Middle Mascot," the district said on their post asking the community to submit ideas for a new mascot.
Photos on the middle school's social media pages show that while the school logo appears to show a different "C," some sports uniforms and merchandise does show the C-Paw logo UC owns. Under UC's trademarks and licensing program, the school "reserves the right to take appropriate action when confronted with unauthorized use of its trademark."
WCPO has reached out to UC regarding the district's claim and will update this story when it is received.
In the meantime, UC's rival is having fun with the copyright fight. Musketeer Gear, an NIL venture led by Xavier alumni, is now selling "Cheatham Musketeers" shirts, stating that all proceeds will go to Cheatham Middle School.
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