Duke University and John Wayne's family are in a legal battle over the name 'Duke.'

First, the origins of two Dukes:

1.)  Marion Mitchell Morrison was his real name, but his stage name was John Wayne. The swaggering cinematic ideal of American machismo for four decades went by the nickname Duke, or The Duke, an adult version of the moniker given to him as a child by a local firefighter. Always seen walking around town with his Airedale Terrier named Duke, the young Marion Morrison was nicknamed Little Duke by said firefighter, and so a name was born.

2.)  Founded in 1838 by a group of Methodists and Quakers as Brown's Schoolhouse, then later named the Union Institute Academy, Normal College, Trinity College, the university now known as Duke University acquired its name after a $40 million gift was granted to the school by James B. Duke.

James Duke established the Duke Endowment, largely in memory of his father, Washington Duke, a wealthy tobacco industrialist who decades earlier had donated money to the school and pressured it to move its location to Durham, NC, where it currently resides. James Duke would gain on his father's industrialist legacy, establishing a monopoly on the tobacco marketplace, helping create modern cigarette manufacturing, and becoming one of the richest Americans at the time of his death.

The school changed its name to Duke University in 1924 with the arrival of James Duke's endowment pledge, after the university's president, William Preston Few, insisted upon the name change to honor the school's greatest benefactor--and so a name was born.


Now, the rest of the story:

According to The Hollywood Reporter, John Wayne's heirs are suing Duke University to claim trademark rights for using the name "Duke," largely so they can attach it to alcohol advertising. Arguing against this, Duke University claims people will be confused seeing "Duke" branded to alcohol, and associate it with the school. The two sides have been at odds for over a decade, with John Wayne Enterprises (JWE) looking to brand the late actor's name to everything swarthy and swaggering.

Duke University wants none of this, telling the Trademark Office, "Duke University is not and never has been in the business of producing, marketing, distributing, or selling alcohol. [...] On information and belief, the actual and potential customer base of Duke University is vastly different from the customer base of JWE."

"On information and belief." Yes, yes. Duke University--a school established largely on the back of cigarettes and tobacco--doesn't want people to associate the name Duke with the unsavory aspects of alcohol.

Clearly, the two Dukes are a match made in trademark heaven.