TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — New York University (NYU) has filed a claim of trademark infringement against Taiwan’s National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University (NYCU). 

The US school asserts that the abbreviation NYCU is too similar to its own trademarked abbreviation NYU, reported UDN. They claim that “NYC” evokes “New York City,” which will dilute the school’s unique brand and cause confusion. 

The Taiwanese school filed to trademark the acronym in 2021 in both the US and Taiwan after the merger of National Yang Ming University and National Chiao Tung University. According to CNA, the acronym received preliminary approval in November 2022. 

NYU filed a motion opposing the use of NYCU by the Taiwanese school in 2023. Both schools are currently awaiting a final ruling from the the US Patent and Trademark Office.

The president of NYCU Lin Chih-hong (林奇宏) submitted an official statement to the patent office to defend the school’s acronym. He said that the first letter in the English name of each predecessor school was included in the abbreviation, and that the Taiwan government has already approved the use of the NYCU for the university.

In a 29-point statement, Lin explains the origin of the schools, the naming process, and the current educational environment, which he emphasizes all differ from NYU. With campuses in Taipei and Hsinchu, but no courses offered in the US, Lin says there is “no realistic way” people would confuse the two institutions.