University of Cincinnati Sends Cease And Desist Order To Tennessee Middle School

**Cheatham Middle School – University of Cincinnati**

(11-26-24) The University of Cincinnati and Cheatham (Tennessee) Middle School both had the ‘Bearcats‘ as their mascots and a logo featuring a “C-paw.” Recently Cheatham Middle School was ordered to stop using the logo because the University of Cincinnati holds the name and logo as trademarks.

– For 26 years, Cheatham Middle School was the home of the Bearcats…Cheatham Middle School said it received a cease-and-desist letter from the University of Cincinnati which had threatened legal action over using the university’s mascot. School officials said the letter concerned copyright and licensing infringements, as Cheatham’s mascot is a bearcat, and they call themselves the CMS Bearcats.

Cheatham Middle School submitted a proposal to UC agreeing to remove the logo and create a new one but were denied and informed that the school can also no longer use or refer to themselves as the “Bearcats” as the university also owns a sports licensing copyright for that word.

University of Cincinnati statement-

“A few months ago, we were alerted to the use of the University of Cincinnati’s trademarks by Cheatham Middle School. When we or our licensing agency, the Collegiate Licensing Company (CLC), identify infringing activity, the other party is contacted to educate them about the University’s rights and request they stop using the marks. As part of this process, we requested CMS to identify the various ways in which they have adopted UC’s identity so we can understand the full scale of what is involved to address the matter.

We appreciate Cheatham Middle School’s interest in using UC’s iconic trademarks, which are recognized both nationally and globally. But CMS never requested permission to do so. Just as many other universities and recognizable brands make significant investment to protect their own marks, we reserve the right for exclusive use of the UC marks. We understand this may cause some inconveniences, but we have a responsibility to preserve and protect the University’s rights to its marks.”

So Cheatham Middle School is now in the process of picking a new mascot.

Out of all the write-in suggestions, the four most popular suggestions were:

Bobcats
Cubs
Coyotes
Musketeers

Breen told WLWT –

“I still respect what UC did, it is what it is. But I also recognize that these small school districts, you know, this has a much larger material effect on the school district of that size.

“UC is well within it’s right to protect their IP. I mean, that is any brand should do that and they’d be silly not to,” Breen continued.

-Xavier’s statement –

“The nickname ‘Musketeers’ is available for Cheatham Middle School or any other school to adopt should they desire to. In our views, this is no different than use of the nicknames ‘Bulldogs’ or ‘Wildcats’ that many schools use, both at the college and high school levels. Our involvement in the matter is to ensure our rights will not be infringed upon.”

Musketeer Gear, a non-profit founded by Xavier alumni and run by and for Xavier student-athletes, already has a “Cheatham Musketeers” t-shirt that is eligible for purchase.