Have you ever had a crush only to find out the other person was in a relationship? Well, a Kentucky distillery recently found out the hard way that “Kentucky” is already taken.

According to Letcher County’s first legal moonshine distillery, Kentucky Mist Moonshine, UK has trademarked “Kentucky” since 1997.

Kentucky Mist Moonshine co-owner Colin Fultz said the company just wanted to sell its own T-shirts, not to affiliate with the university, in a phone interview with the Lexington Herald-Leader. Kentucky Mist Moonshine is only using its own name on the apparel.

One would assume the concernwould be because the Kentucky Mist Moonshine apparel resembles a UK logo, but that is not the case. Not even close.

“In the letter it said that people may confuse it with UK stuff and it would be deceiving to the public,” said Fultz. “But if you saw anything about our logo, you can see that it is in no way similar.”

Fultz received a letter from one of UK’s contract attorneys. The letter said, “It is our present position that Kentucky Mist Moonshine Inc.’s use of the mark KENTUCKY MIST MOONSHINE to identify articles of clothing is likely to cause deception, confusion and mistake as to Kentucky Mist Moonshine Inc.’s affiliation, connection or association with the university.”

The Whitesburg company is not trying to affiliate themselves with the university. And why would they want to? For the university to own the rights of the word “Kentucky” and take away from small businesses is unethical.

Kentucky Mist Moonshine, located in the foothills of the Appalachian Mountains, only wants to sell its apparel.

According to its Facebook page, Kentucky Mist Moonshine opened in September of this year. Its products include strawberry, peach, blackberry and apple pie moonshine.

Kentucky Mist Moonshine can still keep its name. According to Business Insider, “Owning a trademark has advantages, especially if someone tries to mimic your brand. When you own a trademark, you are protected by law and can more easily ward off copycats.”

UK spokesman Jay Blanton told WKYT that UK does not have a problem with the use of the word “Kentucky” in general. However, UK does have a problem with being affiliated with the company.

Even so, using one’s power to reign over on small businesses is not like a Kentuckian. Kentuckians are proud of where they come from, lend a helping hand and have southern hospitality. This is not how the university is acting.