On New Year’s Day 1976, NBC proudly unveiled a new, modern “N” logo that had been developed and unveiled at a staggering cost of more than $600,000.

The problem was that many viewers in Nebraska — including NETV program director Ron Hull, watching the Tournament of Roses parade — thought the logo looked just a tad familiar. As it turned out, NBC’s big-budget graphics team had come up with a design identical to the logo used by Nebraska’s ETV Network. Oddly, not only had NETV paid only $100 to the designer of their logo, but they weren’t even particularly happy with it.

The law is still the law, however, and NETV wasn’t going to be bullied. NBC didn’t seem a bit concerned about the tiny network’s complaints until February, when a lawsuit was filed for trademark infringement.

Knowing that they would very likely lose in court, the legal folks at NBC put together a $1 million package that got them off the hook and allowed them full use of the logo. NETV ended up receiving a “nearly new” color mobile unit and several hundred thousand dollars worth of broadcasting equipment. On top of that, NBC also provided them $55,000 to pay for the costs related to not only the legal battle, but the development and implementation of a new logo.

The new logo? A lower-case “N.” Only this time, the Nebraska ETV folks were able to spend a bit more on its development.