Va. Tech files suit over 'Hokie' name
Virginia Tech has filed a civil suit against a Blacksburg real estate agent and Tech alumnus for using the word “Hokie” in his business name.
Tech filed the trademark infringement claim Oct. 18 in the U.S. District Court for Western Virginia against John Wilburn, broker and owner of Hokie Real Estate Inc.
The filing alleges that Wilburn is infringing on Tech’s exclusive right to the “famous Hokies and Hokie trademarks,” and asks that the company be ordered to pay Tech’s legal fees and unspecified damages.
In 2009, Tech made about $1.6 million in fees and royalties from sales of licensed products and services, the filing stated.
But Wilburn’s attorney, James Creekmore, said in an interview that the university never registered the term with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, and long ago gave up rights to the word “Hokie.”
-- Associated Press
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Washington Post editors
| October 29, 2010; 1:45 PM ET
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Virginia
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Posted by: mml4a | October 29, 2010 2:21 PM | Report abuse
I thought Virginia Tech's logo was "All Dirt Roads Lead to Virginia Tech". When didi the Hokie become the Mascot?
Posted by: knjon353 | October 29, 2010 3:12 PM | Report abuse
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That's a hokie thing to do. Now if the real estate firm was owned by Michael Vick, I imagine there would be problem.