The AISD Communications Department, which is responsible for all branding in the district, recently received and informed Bowie of a Cease and Desist letter. The letter was sent from Gonzaga University, a private Catholic university in Spokane, Washington.

Cease and Desist letters inform an individual or business that if they do not stop doing something illegal, they could potentially be sued. In Bowie’s case, if we don’t change our bulldog logo, the school will be sued. Gonzaga University trademarked their bulldog school logo and then searched for similar logos across the country. Logos they found that were too similar to their own, they sent Cease and Desist letters to.

The Bowie bulldog logo is almost identical to that of Gonzaga’s.

As a potential solution, Bowie’s own graphic design teachers and students could be asked to design a new bulldog to be the school’s primary logo throughout the 2017-2018 school year. Students will submit designs into a competition, and the best one may become the school’s logo.

Another option that is being considered by the school is hiring a company to re-brand Bowie. By doing so, we are guaranteed a legal logo that will not create more problems. Other AISD schools have successfully done this which proves it is an effective method.

This logo will take the place of the other bulldog logo that is so similar to Gonzaga University’s. Both Gonzaga University and Bowie have a “scary” bulldog, with bared teeth and spiky collar, and both use the same color scheme. The only difference is the Bowie B on Bowie’s bulldog collar that was added a few years ago, possibly because someone in the administration noticed how identical the logos were.

Another logo associated with Bowie is the B with a star and the black and red school colors inside. Going with this as our primary logo would be the wisest and simplest decision to meet Gonzaga’s requirements while still upholding a unique and consistent image. The B is simple and bold, and can easily be remembered by our students, faculty, and other schools. We should trademark it to prevent incidents in the future, and risks of losing money that we don’t have.

The B logo is already associated with Bowie, and for years has been a big part of Bowie High School. The logo is already on the main page of our school website, on the band uniforms, on the front of the school, and all over the Bowie campus. This way, a new logo doesn’t have to be designed and published, and could prevent confusion in students and other schools.

Trademarking the Bowie B will prevent future issues with other schools and prevent the chances of losing money from just our image alone. Trademarking a logo is more than worth it in the long run, as not much effort, time, or money goes into it, but prevents all of these from being wasted.

The B is unique and sets Bowie apart from other schools in the Austin area. It has our school colors and is still pleasing to the eye. Now, the Athletics department doesn’t have to worry about our logo not being intimidating enough for athletics and competitive activities, to intimidate other teams.

The B logo that has been associated with Bowie for years would be a great substitute for the bulldog logo that has been trademarked by another school.