http://www.dfw.com/mld/dfw/sports/colleges/13735890.htm
EXCERPTS from the above link:
The playoffs -- with the No. 12 flag waving high atop Seattle's Space Needle and another one flapping in the south end of the stadium -- have finally exposed Seattle's 12th man tradition to the rest of the nation, and a stunned College Station -- the official Home of the 12th Man, legally speaking.
Texas A&M officials are hot over what athletic director Bill Byrne termed Seattle's "brazen use of the 12th Man theme" in his Wednesday Internet column.
A&M, whose own 12th Man tradition dates back to 1922, holds two trademark registrations on "12th Man." Secured in 1990 and 1996, the trademarks include entertainment services, "namely organizing and conducting intercollegiate sporting events," and products, such as caps, T-shirts, novelty buttons and jewelry.
The Web site, SeaHawkers.org, the official site of the team's booster club, offers downloadable computer desktop wallpaper that reads: "At Home We are the 12th Man" and "On the Road We are the 12th Man."
"There's 12th man towels on eBay and all types of 12th man merchandise that we've seen," A&M's Moore said. "We really have no way of knowing whether the Seahawks are putting that out or not."
Geoff Mantooth, a Fort Worth-based registered patent and trademark attorney, said A&M might be able to win a court battle. He said A&M could seek damages for past infringement, stop future infringement and even ask for the Seahawks' profits on any 12th man merchandise.
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