Two different colleges with the same name are now engaged in a legal battle over the trademark.

Jacqueline Thomsen of Inside Higher Ed reports.

What’s in a Name?

One university in Maryland isn’t willing to share — its name, that is.

Mount St. Mary’s University, located in Emmitsburg, Md., is suing Mount St. Mary’s University of Los Angeles for trademark infringement, claiming that the California institution was unlawfully using the trademarks and trade names of the East Coast university.

Both institutions have coexisted peacefully until now, but that ended when the California location changed its name from Mount St. Mary’s College in January.

“MSMULA was never given authorization by MSMU to use Mount St. Mary’s University, Mount Saint Mary’s University, The Mount and MSMU in connection with educational services,” reads a statement from the Maryland university. “Documented market confusion has developed as a direct result of MSMULA’s unauthorized use of MSMU’s intellectual property.”

A spokesman for Mount St. Mary’s University in Maryland, Christian Kendzierski, said the confusion began with the name change earlier this year, and that his institution reached out to the other on two separate occasions, to no avail.

“We just want to make sure in the market that when someone’s looking for Mount St. Mary’s University, they’re getting the right Mount St. Mary’s,” he said. “I think it speaks to good business sense and branding and that’s important.”

Debbie Ream, a spokeswoman at Mount St. Mary’s University of Los Angeles, declined to comment because the university is reviewing the complaint with its counsel.