Is ‘12th Man’ Too General To Be an Enforceable Trademark?

When is a phrase too general to be an enforceable trademark?   That will be a key question in the sports law industry that should get resolved in the coming weeks or months after Texas A&M challenged the NFL’s Seattle Seahawks over the team’s use of the phrase “the 12th Man” days before the Seahawks were scheduled to play in the Super Bowl.   A&M, a school that tightly embraces its traditions, claims that its use of the phrase began in the early 1920s in reference to a student,