The Tyrannosaurus rex known as Sue can keep her name. The Field Museum of
Natural History in Chicago launched a contest to rename the dinosaur after the
Black Hills Institute in South Dakota, which unearthed the fossil, claimed rights to the name
(This Week, 7 February, p 23). “Dakota” was picked as the
winning name, but lawyers found that it had been used as a trademark for several products.
Fortunately, the Black Hills Institute had by then dropped its claim to the
name Sue. “The museum never expected this scenario,” says John McCarter, its
president. Although the new name will not be used, the three winners will
receive computers.
