After Breckenridge, are we next in line?

Logo rides off into the sunset

Steven Wagner, The Forum
Published Thursday, April 12, 2007

A cowboy logo used by Breckenridge, Minn., schools for 35 years will be replaced, a move allowing the district to avoid a legal dispute with the state of Wyoming.

The school logo, depicting a bucking horse and rider, resembles one trademarked by Wyoming for use on its state quarter, license plates and road signs.

Some may find the decision disappointing but most won’t notice much of a difference if the school finds a “royalty free” version available online, Superintendent David Pace said Wednesday.

“The reality is we’re still the Breckenridge Cowboys,” Pace said. “The silhouette is going to change a little bit.”

An April 3 letter from the Wyoming Secretary of State’s office said the state has taken action against third parties, including casinos and a brewing company, for using its federally protected logo.

“We knew we were between a rock and a hard place on this one,” Pace said. “We could fight it and we’re not going to win. It’s their federal trademark, and it’s their right to stop us from using it.”

The school board voted Tuesday to phase out use of its current logo, which Wyoming claims infringed on its federally protected trademark, and search for a new one.

Breckenridge had used the logo since 1972 and the image appears on uniforms for the boys’ wrestling team and football helmets. It also is prominently displayed on school walls.

Earlier this year, Wyoming officials demanded Breckenridge schools quit using the cowboy logo. Wyoming claims it has used its Bucking Horse and Rider logo since 1918.

“Wyoming simply cannot live and let live when it is made aware of unauthorized third-party uses” of the trademark, wrote Pat Arp, the Wyoming Deputy Secretary of State, in the April 3 letter. “I would like to once again extend an invitation to talk through the issues and the options that exist.”

Then the letter states Wyoming is willing to fight the matter in court, if necessary. Arp did not return a phone call requesting comment.

The district’s girls’ teams are named the Cowgirls and have a separate, but similar, logo. Pace said the district plans to seek a logo copyright from the state of Minnesota for the cowgirl image.

The logo decision came in light of $320,000 in staff cuts, prompted by declining enrollments and rising costs. The district expects about 50 fewer students than this year’s enrollment of 885.

Breckenridge also must pay to find a replacement for Pace, who is leaving to take the superintendent’s job in East Grand Forks.