A 14-month legal struggle between Saint Louis University and a professor might be nearing an end.

On Dec. 27, a federal judge in St. Louis dismissed most of the University’s trademark infringement lawsuit against communication professor and The University News faculty mentor Avis Meyer.

“I was pleased that the judge dismissed the six counts,” Meyer said.

In October 2007, the University sued Meyer after he decided to create a nonprofit entity with the Missouri Secretary of State’s office named after this publication, “The University News, a Student Voice Serving Saint Louis University Since 1921.”

Meyer’s lawyers argued that he did not publicly use the name of the corporation and asked the judge to dismiss six of the seven counts against him.

Meyer still faces one count for deleting e-mails in which he disclosed information to others about the lawsuit and his disagreements with the University.

The court will address this issue at a later date, according to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.

According to University spokesperson Clayton Berry, the University is reviewing the decision.

He had no additional comments on the matter.

Meyer has served as both the official and unofficial adviser to The University News since the 1970s.

When University officials proposed changes to the student newspaper’s charter in 2007, many on the newspaper staff believed that the University was trying to take control of the publication.

The University replied that they were just trying to improve the quality of the paper.

In court, Meyer claimed that he created the nonprofit group during the charter dispute, because he wanted to reserve the name of the newspaper. This was a precaution, he said, in case the students did not agree with the University’s terms for the new charter so that they could move the publication off campus.

“I thought that the rewritten charter took ultimate control of staffing and by extension, content of The University News from the students and gave that control to the administration,” Meyer said.

The nonprofit corporation dissolved because the University and the student newspaper reached a mutual agreement. During the summer of 2008, the University banned Meyer from visiting the newsroom on the third floor of the Busch Student Center, stating that disagreements between him and Jason Young, the current adviser, had created a tense atmosphere for students.

In an editorial published on Aug. 28, the editorial board of The University News said that it disagreed with the administration’s decision to bar Meyer from the newsroom and said that he was welcome to visit the office.

In March 2008, University President Lawrence Biondi, S.J., stated in his monthly e-mail message that the University had spent more than $18,000 in legal action against Meyer. Biondi additionally denied that the lawsuit against Meyer and the charter changes were not an attempt to influence or to control the newspaper’s content.