Western Kentucky University's mascot, "Big Red", has allegedly been copied illegally by a company controlled by the Italian prime minister, the billionaire Silvio Berlusconi.
Big Red, a scarlet humanoid character with a huge stomach and huge head, was designed by a student in 1979. The company that controls its copyright has said that one of Mr Berlusconi's Mediaset television networks has broadcast a comedy that features an unauthorised clone of Big Red, a character called Gabibbo.