As evidenced by the interviews after the Seahawks routed the Broncos in the Super Bowl, the Seahawks have always credited part of its success to the power of “the 12th man,” the Seahawks’ rowdy, boisterous fan base. The Seahawks’ 12th man has definitely made its presence known. Literally. The 12th man holds the Guinness Book of World Records for loudest crowd during the Seahawks’ Week 14 game against the Saints in Seattle. The 12th man first broke the record in September during the Seahawk’s Week 2 game against the 49ers. One member of the 12th man even went as far as naming their newborn daughter, born last week, Cydnee Leigh 12th Mann. That’s dedication. However, not everyone appears to appreciate the Seahawks’ 12th man. Johnny Manziel, Texas A&M University’s former quarterback, took a shot at the Seahawks’ 12th man earlier this month by posting a photo on Instagram with the caption, “REAL 12th man #GIGEM.” Texas A&M’s use of the 12th man to represent its fans dates back to 1922. During a bowl game in January of 1922, a student in the stands was pulled and asked to suit up in case he was needed as a substitute. While he never played, his willingness to help turned into a tradition and the entire university is considered the 12th man. The university obtained the trademark for THE TWELFTH MAN in 1990.

After a couple years of sending cease and desist letters to the Seahawks’ regarding the phrase, A&M filed a trademark infringement suit against them in 2006. In that same year, the Seahawks struck a licensing agreement with Texas A&M, in which the Seahawks’ would be able to continue using the phrase for a lump sum of $100,000, and an annual fee of about $5,000 a year. This agreement is set to expire in 2016.

While the dispute between Texas A&M and the Seahawks appears to be settled for the time being, Texas A&M’s trademark attorneys appear to have their hands full with the popularity of the 12th man as of late and the use of the phrase to sell all types of goods. No doubt this will continue for the foreseeable future.

Sources: http://www.visualthesaurus.com/cm/wordroutes/the-twelfth-man-a-football-phrase-with-disputed-roots/ http://ftw.usatoday.com/2014/01/johnny-manziel-seattle-seahawks-12th-man/ http://www.denverpost.com/broncos/ci_25048558/seahawks-celebrate-credit-12th-man http://ftw.usatoday.com/2014/01/seahawks-baby-named-12th-man/

For more information on this topic, please visit our trademark service page.

Klemchuk LLP is an Intellectual Property (IP), Technology, Internet, and Business law firm located in Dallas, TX.  The firm offers comprehensive legal services including litigation and enforcement of all forms of IP as well as registration and licensing of patents, trademarks, trade dress, and copyrights.  The firm also provides a wide range of technology, Internet, e-commerce, and business services including business planning, formation, and financing, mergers and acquisitions, business litigation, data privacy, and domain name dispute resolution.  Additional information about the IP law firm and its IP law attorneys may be found at www.klemchuk.com.

Klemchuk LLP hosts Culture Counts, a blog devoted to the discussion of law firm culture and corporate core values with frequent topics about positive work environment, conscious capitalism, entrepreneurial management, positive workplace culture, workplace productivity, and corporate core values.