Baylor Sues Boston University Over “Nearly Identical” Interlocking “BU” Logo

According to court documents obtained USA TODAY Sports and other news outlets, Baylor University is suing the trustees of Boston University over the latter’s use of the interlocking “BU” logo.

The lawsuit, which was filed in the U.S. District Court in Texas on Aug. 8, alleges trademark infringement, unfair competition and false designation of origin, as the logo that Boston uses is “essentially identical and/or confusingly similar to Baylor’s federally registered marks.”

Baylor, a private Baptist university located in Waco, Texas, has used the logo since 1912 and claims it has “developed an enormous amount of goodwill, public recognition and strong rights in those marks,” and while it “does not generally object” the use of their shared initials, Baylor notes Boston has “primarily and historically used marks that display the letters side-by-side.”

The two universities entered an agreement in 1988 regarding their respective usage of the initials, but Baylor became aware in 2018 of Boston selling hats at its campus bookstore that featured the interlocking “BU” logo. That was followed by cease-and-desist letters in 2018 and again in 2021 after the Massachusetts-based private research university’s use of the logo “appeared to be expanding.”

Baylor has now asked the court to permanently prohibited Boston from using an interlocking “BU” logo and to “destroy all goods, packaging, signage, advertisements, internet postings and advertisements and any other materials bearing or using (the mark).” Baylor is also seeking to recover legal fees relating to the lawsuit with interest and receive additional financial relief.

Both Baylor and Boston’s varsity sports teams compete at the Division I level, though the Bears – who use a green and gold color scheme – field a football team in the Big XII while the Terriers (who wear scarlet and white) discontinued their program in 1997 after competing at the Division I-AA (now FCS) level. Several of their club sports programs notably use the interlocking “BU,” as well.