U. of Texas Wages Trademark Battle Against ‘iTexas’ Mobile App

Careful how you use the word “Texas.”

The University of Texas is objecting to a new iPhone application called iTexas, developed for the university’s undergrads by an Austin start-up called Mutual Mobile. Its beef: the name.

The university has filed a complaint asking Apple to require the developer to rename the free program, saying the title is “confusingly similar” to its own, according to The Austin Chronicle. The program could get booted from Apple’s store at any time. “It’s a ticking clock,” Tarun Nimmagadda, a co-founder of Mutual Mobile, told the newspaper.

It’s not the first time Mutual Mobile employees — most of them University of Texas alumni — have clashed with their alma mater. The Austin Chronicle reports that the company’s previous “UT Directory” app was pulled after the university complained about the program, which made staff and student directories easily searchable. iTexas goes further, adding cafeteria menus, class schedules, campus maps, and other features to the original directory.

Developers thought they were in the clear this time because this program does away with its predecessor’s burnt-orange color scheme and “UT” name. Unfortunately for Mutual Mobile, the university released its own official iPhone application the same day iTexas came out.

Now the university is getting grief from the blog Techdirt, whose report on the situation kicked up more than 50 reader comments. Says the blog: “Lesson learned: Don’t try to make life better for UT students without first paying the university.”

So far, you can still download the application. On today’s lunch menu in the Jester second-floor dining hall: tortilla soup.