What's in a Name? It appear's that the University of Texas feels very strongly about a name that, at least from my point of view, has no exclusive relation to that institution.   Turns out that UT trademarked the moniker "Bevo" in the seventies... by that time I had been using the name "Bevo" for thirty years and my father had just finished using it for almost 65 years after making it famous world wide during his lifetime of work in aviation plus his skill in aerobatics.

Today (8/27/03) an article appeared in the Austin American Statesman that reported on the University's filing suit against a restaurant named "Bevo's" because they didn't give the owners permission to use "their name."

I have always been a bit sickened when the high dollar legal guns come out to protect some entity's "rights" in these issues... it's almost always an "entity" and never a "person."  This time, however, it's personal.  The rights arguments that UT's consul is aiming at this restaurant now apply to me as well, and it's time to voice an opinion.

Those who know the name "Bevo" from aviation history, may not know that the name of UT's Longhorn mascot steer is also "Bevo."  For those who know only the association of the name with the steer might Google for the name or take a look at www.BevHoward.com/Bevo.htm

The original hoofed owner of the Austin copy of "Bevo" had to suffer two painful brandings to get to his final version that has stuck for 86 years, and, since football is serious business, and serious business is always ultimately about money, and money is about power, UT's legal counsel has stepped in to assure that any use of those particular four letters in sequence occurs only with their blessing.

My father made the name "Bevo" famous in the aviation world from the forties until his death in 1971, a fame recently underscored by a picture of his airplane included in a story of the new National Air and Space Museum facility at Dulles airport carried in the Wall Street Journal.  He wasn't the first to use the name either.  To his mother's chagrin, as a kid, he got tagged that nickname from  "Bevo Beer," from what I have heard, the only beer weak enough to remain legal during prohibition.  (I have even heard scratchy recordings from the prohibition period referring to "...that Bevo Beer.")  Google comes up with a number of "Bevo Beer" hits as well.

Even thinking about "rights" with respect to our common name seems absurd.  In addition to many hits of all type of historical references when searching for "Bevo" on the Internet, there are many postings of recreations of his unique aircraft around the world, the most amazing, to me, being virtual recreations designed to be used within Microsoft's venerable "Flight Simulator" so that new generations can reach for what he created and left behind.  A "rights violation" for them to do so?  No! Hell No!  For those who have forgotten, the term is veneration, something that Longhorn fans know well.

The appearance of the lawsuit article prompted me to call UT's general consul and voice my objections to their exclusive claim to the name.  The conversation went pretty much as I had expected... UT's rights to the name "Bevo" were aggressively defended, but I was given the assurance that they would not pursue my or my father's use of the name... a clear inference that they had the right to do so... but would elect not to.

The current case is wrong, flat wrong, and the institutions, laws and attitudes that let these petty, but expensive, pissing contests to occur are wrong as well.

To Return to Bev and Rebecca's Home Page, Click Here.