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Dr. Saturday

Thu Jan 21 03:48pm EST

Trojans beat Gamecocks in court, and they're not above gloating

By Matt Hinton

The University of Southern California and University of South Carolina are both "USC," of course, but -- legally speaking -- there is only one true SC today after a federal appeals court upheld a lower court decision that restricts the interlocking 'SC' logo to USC-West. The three-judge panel rejected South Carolina's petition to keep an interlocking 'SC' on the Gamecocks' baseball caps, ruling instead that Southern Cal had a longstanding trademark on anything similar to its "primary athletic mark," and that Carolina's version meant there was "potential for South Carolina merchandise to be mistaken for that of USC." (That is, for that of the other USC, not ... uh ... you know what they mean.)

Triumphant Los Angeles attorney Scott Edelman, though, not content to bask in victory for his USC, strayed far from existing case law to make his case to reporters outside of the courtroom, which centered far less on trademark infringement than on the essence of the mighty Trojan spirit in comparison to fowl:

[Edelman] also suggested that the letters were more deservedly linked to the Trojans' warrior image than to "a goofy little chicken."

"I think they wanted to move away from the gamecock logo," Edelman said of the school in the South. "Something that is totally understandable."

Such a blatant and vile attack on America's most beloved emblem of an illegal bloodsport shall not stand, though South Carolina attorney Neil Jones said his "Southern manners" prevented him from returning the volley in what was destined to descend into a string of tired "Cocks-Trojans" single entendres on the courthouse steps. He preferred instead to save his vengeance for the real fight: The next step in Carolina's appeal is the U.S. Supreme Court, if it thinks its argument can compete with the house USC just offered to buy for Bader-Ginsburg's nephew. Eat your heart out, American Needle.

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Hat tip: FanHouse

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