OSU trademarks ‘the’ after three-year fight | Local News
The Ohio State University in Columbus was awarded a trademark June 21 for “the” when used by itself on clothing, including T-shirts, baseball caps and hats.
According to Twitter posts by trademark attorney Josh Gerben, the decision by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office comes after a three-year battle to secure the trademark that began when fashion designer Marc Jacobs sought to trademark the word.
The Ohio State University has successfully registered a trademark for “THE.” The registration was just issued on June 21st by the USPTO.The application was filed back in August 2019. So why did it take 3 years to get approved?A thread🧵 pic.twitter.com/Wfa5EFp4DS
— Josh Gerben (@JoshGerben) June 22, 2022
According to Gerben’s posts, the government first refused OSU’s trademark application arguing the use of “the” was “merely ornamental” and Jacobs had already sought a trademark. OSU replied by showing it was not using the trademark in such a matter and by challenging Jacobs’ application. Both the university and Jacobs reached a settlement in August 2021 that they both would have a patent registration for “the.”
OSU’s application was then granted after the school proved that it was using the word in a substantive and not “merely ornamental way.”