issued the September 4, 1990, to Texas A&M. Four additional Trademark claims related to the "12th Man" term were also filed and granted at later dates by Texas A&M University (See U.S. Ser. Nos. , , and ), the first three of which have achieved Incontestable Status as a result of its section 15 affidavit with the Patent and Trademark Office. According to former Texas A&M Athletic Director Bill Byrne, he contacted the Chicago Bears and Buffalo Bills about halting their "12th Man" themes. Byrne stated that, "they responded quickly with our requests to stop using our Twelfth Man trademark." Texas A&M sent requests to stop using the phrase to the Seattle Seahawks in both 2004 and 2005. The Seahawks did not respond to the requests. In January 2006, Texas A&M filed a trademark infringement lawsuit against the Seattle Seahawks and in May 2006, the dispute was settled out of court. Neither side admitted any fault or liability. In the agreement, the Seahawks licensed the phrase in exchange for $100,000, along with public acknowledgement as to Texas A&M's ownership rights of the phrase, and an additional annual fee. The compensation amounted to $5,000 per year. The agreement, which expired in 2016, limited the Seahawks' usage to seven western states and forbid them from selling any "12th Man" merchandise. In August 2015, the Seahawks shifted towards calling their fans the "12s", and replaced their "Home of the 12th Man" stadium sign with a new "Home of the 12s" sign. On November 12, 2015, Texas A&M filed suit against the Indianapolis Colts after repeated cease and desist requests were ignored by the NFL team. On February 17, 2016, the lawsuit was settled with the Colts agreeing to remove the phrase from their Ring of Honor and to immediately cease all other uses of the trademarked phrase. In August 2016, the Seahawks agreed to a new five-year trademark licensing agreement with Texas A&M. As part of the agreement, the Seahawks agreed to pay Texas A&M $140,000 for limited rights to use the trademarked term. This agreement, like the previous agreement, prohibits the Seahawks from using the "12th Man" term on any merchandise. The new agreement, however, also prohibits Seattle from using the term on social media, nor are they allowed to use the term on any signage within their stadium, including their Ring of Honor. See also Sixth man Sixth man (fans) References