ON JANUARY 01, 1976, NBC-TV UNVEILED A NEW LOGO. THEY PAID $ 1 MILLION TO DESIGN IT. A MONTH LATER, ONCE THIS NEW LOGO HAD BEEN FIRMLY ESTABLISHED AS PART OF THE NBC BRAND, THEY RECEIVED A CALL FROM THE NEBRASKA ETV NETWORK, THE STATE’S CHAIN OF PBS STATIONS. IT SEEMS THEY HAD THE EXACT SAME LOGO. THE ONLY DIFFERENCE WERE THE COLORS.
NBC WAS SUED FOR TRADEMARK INFRINGEMENT. THEY SETTLED OUT OF COURT. NBC GAVE THE NEBRASKA NETWORK NEW EQUIPMENT AND A MOBILE COLOR UNIT, ALL VALUED OVER $800,000 AND PAID $55,000 TO COVER THE COST OF DESIGNING AND IMPLEMENTING ANEW LOGO FOR NEBRASKA ETV. NBC WAS THEN ALLOWED TO KEEP THE “N” LOGO.