Trademark infringement leads My 106.3 to change name

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By JEFF KORBELIK / Lincoln Journal Star

My, oh, my, who would have thought a pronoun could cause so much trouble? Lincoln radio station My 106.3 will change its name because it recently learned “my” is trademarked.

If you’re thinking this is a joke, think again.

Clear Channel Communications, which owns and operates My 106.3 and three other radio stations in Lincoln, broke the news to the station on Sept. 8.

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“This is not a stunt,” Clear Channel Lincoln general manager Julie Gade said. “This is costing us way too much money to stunt this.”

The station has discontinued using “my” on the air and is taking suggestions for a new name from its listeners.

It should be noted that My 106.3 personalities are still using he, she, it and other pronouns.

“We’re going to take the bad and make something good out of it,” said Austin Michael, interim program director and morning show co-host. “It’s not a terrible situation.”

But it is an unusual one.

The station has been called My 106.3 since March 2004, when it flipped its format from contemporary hits to adult contemporary music.

Gade said Clear Channel’s corporate office did not tell her who or what holds the “my” trademark, just that her station must stop using it immediately.

“We at 106.3 do not own it,” she said. “It is my understanding that Clear Channel does not own it. It is an alleged infringement.”

Gade said she only could speak about her station and didn’t know if Clear Channel’s other “my” stations were given the same notification.

Messages left Wednesday for Clear Channel executive vice president and chief legal officer Andrew W. Levin, were not returned.

According to Clear Channel’s Web site, there are “my” stations in Pensacola, Fla.; Bozeman, Mont.; Greenville, S.C.; and Salt Lake City.

Michael said “my” will be removed from the Lincoln station’s logo, vehicle, Web site and other promotional materials. Music and personalities will remain the same.

As for a new name, the station is taking suggestions at austinmichael@clearchannel.com.

“We’re going to have fun with it,” Michael said. “It’s a grand opportunity to interact with the public, to give them more of a say with the radio station.”

Reach Jeff Korbelik at 473-7213 or jkorbelik@journalstar.com.