Dont mess with trademarks

last updated 8 January 2015

Dallas

The Texas Transportation Department has launched a campaign to reclaim its official anti-litter slogan, “Don’t mess with Texas.” An ad agency coined the phrase for the state in 1986, to discourage motorists from discarding trash along Texas roadsides. But the slogan caught on as an expression of state pride, and entrepreneurs stamped it onto everything from T-shirts to refrigerator magnets. In the last year, state officials have sent cease-and-desist letters to 23 merchandisers and organizations warning them to stop using the trademarked catchphrase. “It’s a litter prevention message,” one official said. “It’s not a macho message.”