http://www.wku.edu/bigred/

Western Kentucky University contracts with Crossland Enterprises, Inc., to handle the international licensing of certain University marks, including Big Red. Crossland, in turn, works with other licensing entities including Adfra, a licensing company based in Europe.

In late 2002, Crossland became aware that the mascot of an Italian television company, Mediaset, appeared to be copied directly from Big Red. Crossland was able to confirm that it appeared that, indeed, Big Red had been copied and been renamed "Gabbibo." Together with its Italian licensee, Crossland subsequently filed an infringement suit against Mediaset and other defendants in Lugo, Italy.

The University's and Crossland's copyright infringement and unfair competition lawsuit alleges undetermined but "enormous" economic harm and seeks damages and injunctive relief against Italian media conglomerate Mediaset's Reti Televisive Italiane and other defendants. Mediaset is majority owned by one of Europe's richest men, Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi.

Since 1990, Mediaset has been using, marketing, selling, licensing, and commercially exploiting in various media, "Gabibbo," an unauthorized look-a-like of Big Red. Gabbibo has become hugely popular in Italy, and is, among other things, the star of the long-running five days a week Italian prime time television smash hit satirical and risqué talk show, Striscia la Notizia (Strip the News), a broadcast and print advertising personality and mascot of a soccer network. The damages being sought in the suit relate to the estimated revenue generated by Gabbibo.

After the University and Crossland filed their suit, the parties discovered a "smoking gun," evidence which has since been filed with the Italian judge. In a news article that ran in the Italian magazine, Novella 2000, Issue No. 6/1991 (February), Antonio Ricci, a Mediaset television producer, was quoted that he "adopted" the mascot of a Kentucky basketball team and turned it into an Italian television and song superstar. In the Novella 2000 article, Ricci stated:

"I've wrested him from a life of hardships and humiliations. He was a clown, in Kentucky; he's the biggest TV star here, in Italy. He was a poor devil, bottled up with his rage, they kept throwing balls at him; he had no joys". [Striscia la Notizia staff] keep throwing at him balls, among other things, to make him feel at home. "Right, Big Red became Gabibbo."

Mr. Ricci does not deny that he made the statements attributed to him in Novella 2000; however, when interviewed by the New York Times last week, he claimed that he just had been "joking."


Activity and interest in the suit was notched up in January 2004 as result of an early ruling in the case in favor of Adfra, Crossland, and the University. Without yet determining the merits of the infringement claims against Gabibbo (no trial date has been set), the interim decision held that Big Red is a property of the University that enjoys independent protection under copyright law, and that sublicensee Adfra's use of Big Red on glow-in-the-dark safety vests (under a new Italian law, the safety vests are required to be kept in cars in case of nighttime breakdowns) does not constitute an infringement of Gabibbo.

In addition to Crossland being responsible for all costs related to the suit, Crossland has also has borne all expenses related to Big Red's and Associate Athletic Director Jim Clark's early March 2004 trip to Italy.

The trip was a success. Big Red roamed ancient streets, greeted by the Italian public, making new friends among young and old alike. Big Red's trip and press conference attracted wide broadcast, print and internet media coverage.

Big Red's infringement claims have been national news in Italy, where the coverage generally has been fair and balanced, with Big Red's picture adjacent to Gabibbo's. Articles have appeared in newspapers and magazines ranging from the New York Times, International Herald Tribune and Time to our local Bowling Green Daily News. The Associated Press has disseminated the story worldwide and the lawsuit has been a topic of American national sports talk radio. University officials have been interviewed for stories on Good Morning America and ESPN.

Big Red is a treasured member of the Western family and the Bowling Green, Kentucky, community. Unlike the typical mascot, Big Red is not a lion, tiger or bear, nor an earthly human, nor a hurricane or other manifestation of nature. Big Red is that rare mascot conceived to be nothing else in the world but our beloved mascot.