exactly, justsome1here.

Actually, what they are trying to protect is the royalties they collect off of the design, not the design itself.

It isn't the letter "W" that the UW has a problem with, justsomehere. It's the specific design of the motion "W" that they are trying to protect. That design is original enough to have been patented.

Or Wyoming and West Virginia

Our "W" looks different than Washington's "W". I know how petty that sounds.

Maybe it is time that UW-Madison come up with a more original logo. Technically, "W" could mean any college or high school in the state of Wisconsin or Washington.

Gladiator, I was thinking of years ago when they had the "Wolverine" stripes...I forgot they changed the logo.

Excellent point, janesvillian. I just took a mass media law course, and you are dead on.

Unfortunately, prevention, the way that trademark law is written, mark holders must aggressively defend their marks against infringement and consumer confusion, or the mark can be declared generic.

I have seen the identical "Motion W" on a high school kid's cap in Ohio as well. It was red as well, and the first time I saw it, I said, "It sure is good to see another Badger fan around here." I was quickly corrected and never made that mistake again.

Perhaps I should tell the U of Wis people about this and have that high school sued as well!

As Central Michigan, you're talking about right?

Typically they don't go after high schools because they are not major marketable products, whereas college logos are. I believe Craig HS uses the same design on their helmet as Michigan.

Waunakee uses a W that is very similar to the "motion W" of UW. I don't know if they sued them or not, but there was a high school (in Iowa, I believe) who also got reprimanded for using a purple rendition of the motion W.
.
There are teams and schools out there who "copyright" their school colors. Stupid, I know.

Don't these institutions of higher education have anything better to do than argue over a letter? Try spending that money on academics! New concept, I know, but a darn good one!

Well, the point was that Washburn's W was distorted in almost exactly the same proportions as the Wisconsin W, at least in the context of athletics. It didn't help that they expanded the usage (e.g. licensed products) during the period of the lawsuit.
.
In any case, this is a settlement, i.e. an agreement between the parties. Probably Washburn just didn't want to fight anymore, or couldn't afford to fight Wisconsin.

Next I suppose they could sue those other 'W' states for stealing our letter...

Another win for Wisconsin...lol.