CHICKASHA, Okla. (KFOR) An Oklahoma landmark is at the center of a battle with Warner Bros.

The company says the 50 foot leg lamp towering over downtown Chickasha is copyright infringement, but before building the lamp Jim Cowan with Chickasha Community Foundation says they sought legal advice.

Cowan says Warner Bros. never raised concerns until last Fall when they received a letter last Fall demanding the leg lamp be removed.

“Cease and desist, destroy it, so once the CCF got that letter, the CCF’s attorneys that are trademark specialists responded to Warner Bros. attorneys and once they did that, we haven’t heard another word,” said Cowan.

Cowan believes it is not copyright infringement.

“We’re not charging admission to see the leg lamp, anybody can come and take a picture. We sell officially licensed merchandise in our gift shop,” said Cowan.

The land it sits on is also owned by the University of Science and Arts of Oklahoma.

“Public universities are immune from trademark infringements because of when they use art,” said Cowan.

While no lawsuit has been filed, Cowan is ready to fight if it reaches that point.

“We believe we did it right, we have attorneys that believed we did it right and so I can’t imagine Warner Bros. wanting to pick on a small little town in rural Oklahoma,” said Cowan.

The leg lamp has been a game changer for Chickasha, driving tourism into downtown.

Cowan says since November of 2022, the leg lamp has reached nearly a billion people.

The attraction has also made people invest into the town.

“I saw them put this leg lamp up and decided, hey, this is a gimmick, I want to get involved,
so I bought several buildings downtown here and remodeled them because I think this is going to be a great tourist location,” said Chett Hitt, property owner.

Cowan says a reason they built the lamp is because it pays homage to a longtime resident, the late Noland James.

“He was an art professor at OU, he claimed in his obituary that he invented the prop, said Cowan.

Legend has it the original one stood in his office.

“It’s all in fun and we believe we did things the correct way and our local businesses absolutely love it,” said Cowan.

affiliate KFOR reached out to Warner Bros. and never heard back.