Do you prefer cowboy whiskey or elite university whiskey?

[sorghum]

<p>

Who is the rightful heir to the “Duke legacy” — a major private university or the descendants of a movie star who want to put his name on bottles of whiskey?</p>

<p>Specifically, the heirs to Marion Robert Morrison, aka John Wayne, have filed suit against Duke University, seeking to claim a trademark to use the “Duke” namesake in liquor sales.

</p>

<p><a href=“Duking it out: John Wayne’s family suing university over rights to ‘Duke’ name”>http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/sideshow/duking-it-out--john-wayne-s-family-suing-famed-university-over-rights-to--duke--name-153034826.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

[GMTplus7]

<p>tempest in a shot glass</p>

[LakeWashington]

<p>More ammunition for the hostile UNC fans. Duke should just follow the example of Yale (Yale padlocks, anyone?) and try to ignore these issues.</p>

[GMTplus7]

<p>

Duke should just follow the example of Yale (Yale padlocks, anyone?) and try to ignore these issues.

</p>

<p>Nah, they should duke it out in court.</p>

[Lergnom]

<p>I don’t see why the Wayne family wouldn’t win. The argument that there would be confusion is idiotic: a picture of John Wayne on a horse is obviously not a university. They could print in small letters on the back: not affiliated with or endorsed by Duke University.</p>

[Hunt]

<p>I wonder if the university also tried to prevent Daisy Duke from marketing cut-off denim shorts.</p>

[sorghum]

<p>Duke should just claim that they did indeed plan to market a whiskey.</p>

[Consolation]

<p>How about the Duke of Earl? Not to mention all of the Dukes in Europe and the UK. If someone wanted to found a college or university, that might be a reasonable issue.</p>

<p>Come to think of it, what about Harvard-Westlake?</p>

[Magnetron]

<p>A “duke” is another word for “dropping a deuce,” but I’m not about to send them royalties.</p>

[Torveaux]

<p>@GMTplus7 it’s those sort of punchy comments that get people into trouble, Pilgrim.</p>

[scout59]

<p>My favorite is the Duke’s mayonnaise. I need to find a Midwest source for it - my potato salad and tomato sandwiches don’t taste nearly as good with Hellman’s or Kraft. </p>

[LakeWashington]

<p>Why did you have to mention Duke’s Mayo? Love the stuff but can only get it on my infrequent forays into Dixie. </p>

[hidall1]

<p>“It’s not just their right but their responsibility to protect their trademarks, Reid Wilson, an adjunct professor of trademark law at Ohio State University, explained to NPR. Otherwise they risk losing them.”</p>

<p><a href=“http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/morning-mix/wp/2014/07/10/john-wayne-and-duke-university-in-dispute-over-duke-bourbon/”>http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/morning-mix/wp/2014/07/10/john-wayne-and-duke-university-in-dispute-over-duke-bourbon/&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;