Pinconning High School's Jacob Rittenberg, left, and Michigan State University's Casey Hughes sport similar Spartan emblems on their football helmets. Pinconning stopped using that logo on its helmet in 2015 but displays it in other areas at the northeast Michigan school, a concern for the MSU licensing department. (Photos by Nicole Hester | MLive.com and Gregory Shamus | Getty Images)

By Lee Thompson | lthomps2@mlive.com

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PINCONNING, MI -- There are Spartans across the country.

But Michigan State University is going the extra mile to make sure the MSU Spartans are one of a kind.

That's why one of the nation's largest universities contacted a rural, northeast Michigan high school of 402 students, asking the Pinconning Spartans to stop using the logo registered by the MSU Spartans.

"The reaction around here, for the most part, has been surprise," said Mike Vieau, superintendent of Pinconning Area School District. "People are surprised that MSU would reach out and actually contact us about this.

"We are the Spartans. That's who we are and who the community identifies with. But nobody is saying we can't be the Spartans. We just can't use the trademarked logo."

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Michigan State's Andrew Dowell (5) and David Dowell (6) tackle Michigan running back Chris Evans (12) during the first quarter of their Big Ten game. (Mike Mulholland | MLive.com)

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Vieau said his district received a letter from Michigan State nearly two months ago, explaining that the university saw similarities between the emblem that adorned the Pinconning football helmet and the one on the MSU helmet.

Because that logo is trademarked for MSU-specific use, the university requested that Pinconning no longer use it to represent its northern Bay County school.

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The Michigan State University-registered Spartan logo is on the left and the new Pinconning High School design on the right show subtle differences.

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"Over the years, MSU has and continues to become aware of schools in various parts of the country using logos virtually identical to an MSU-registered mark, such as the Spartan helmet," said MSU director of licensing Samantha Stevens, in a written statement. "While we do not actively seek out possible cases of trademark infringement, we do have a process for addressing the issue when we become aware since the United States Patent and Trademark Office requires trademark holders to make efforts to protect their legal rights to marks or risk losing them.

"We were pleased to find the Pinconning High School leadership receptive to our concerns and to see them transition to their previous depiction of a Spartan helmet."

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The Pinconning football team celebrates with helmets in the air during their 2014 win over Caro. (Amanda Ray | MLive.com)

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Vieau said the letter included a photo of a Pinconning football helmet, bearing a Spartan emblem that the high school has not worn on its helmets since 2015. Photos as far back as 2000 show the emblem on Pinconning helmets, but Vieau said he is uncertain how long the high school has been using it.

He said the MSU-style logo still appears in a variety of locations around the school and on uniforms of some of the Pinconning sports teams. The high school does not have a dedicated Spartan logo and uses many different varieties, with the MSU-registered Spartan being one of them.

Vieau said Pinconning has decided on a new Spartan symbol that it will use universally for all Pinconning High School representation going forward. It's a subtle variation on the MSU-trademarked version but different enough to make it unique.

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A Spartan of a different design adorns the sign that greets visitors to Pinconning High School. (MLive.com)

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He submitted the new design to Michigan State, received its approval and considers the matter resolved.

"We have used a logo that is not our exclusive logo, so now we are going to conform with one logo and go forward with that for all of the teams," he said. "This is an opportunity for us to get on the same page with the same logo across the board."

Vieau said Pinconning does not plan to remove any of its current Spartan symbols but will phase out the MSU-registered logo as new equipment and uniforms are purchased. Therefore, he said, the change comes at no expense to the school district.

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This year's version of the Pinconning football helmet shows drastic differences from the MSU-trademarked logo the high school once used. (Kaytie Boomer | MLive.com)

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"MSU has been professional and easy to work with," he said. "They're not banging on our door. They've been accommodating, so it hasn't been a stressful thing for our district. They just slapped our hand a little bit and we are going to conform.

"I understand MSU's perspective. They're concerned about brand confusion and they don't want anybody using their logo."

Pinconning is one of 10 high schools in Michigan that bear the Spartan nickname. It is the only one that sports green and white as its school colors, identical to Michigan State. Vieau said the high school, which opened in its current structure in 1955, has always been the green and white Spartans, but he was uncertain if there was ever a connection to MSU.