A university has become embroiled in a trademark dispute with a real estate broker, it has been reported.
Virginia Tech sued Blacksburg-based Hokie Real Estate last October, arguing that the firm was infringing on its ‘Hokie’ trademark, reports Roanoke.com.
According to the U.S. trademark database, the institute has owned rights to the term since 1998.
However, in March this year, U.S. District Court Judge Glen Conrad refused to grant Tech’s request for an injunction against the real estate firm’s use of the name.
Virginia Tech subsequently hired a new attorney who revived the case, and the two parties are now believed to be working toward an out-of-court settlement.
In a report filed this week in the U.S. District Court for Western Virginia, Judge Waugh Crigler wrote that Hokie Real Estate owner John Wilburn and university officials had settled their disagreements through a mediation process.