Ohio State Seeks to Trademark “The”



Narcissism at a moderately high level.
 

Minnesota should follow and trademark "the U" to avoid confusion with another school in the south.
 

Minnesota should follow and trademark "the U" to avoid confusion with another school in the south.

Oh man... I can about imagine the internet drama.

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They definitely cannot succeed with this. The fsct that they're even trying shows that college sports should probably be burned down. The arrogance and narcissism to believe this would ever succeed is beyond measure.
 

They definitely cannot succeed with this. The fsct that they're even trying shows that college sports should probably be burned down. The arrogance and narcissism to believe this would ever succeed is beyond measure.

They're not looking to trademark the literal word. They're looking to trademark it when used with the university's name on items marketed for sale (The Ohio State University™). Still might fail, but it's not as completely outlandish as it has been made to seem from most reports.
 

They're not looking to trademark the literal word. They're looking to trademark it when used with the university's name on items marketed for sale (The Ohio State University™). Still might fail, but it's not as completely outlandish as it has been made to seem from most reports.

The nuance you explain is important.

That said, I got the impression it's a little broader than just using it in the context of "THE Ohio State University". I mean, 'the' precedes basically every noun, and if they are only talking in that context, no trademark would really be required since presumably "The Ohio State University" is already trademarked.

I'm thinking they have more abstract marketing stuff in mind (like T-shirts that simply say "THE" in big letters or something). If that's the case, I think they lose this. ...or at least I hope they do. Copyright and trademark protections have gone WAY too far in my opinion.
 

Oh man... I can about imagine the internet drama.

popcorn_seinfeld.gif

Gonna need a bigger bag...

[video]https://media2.giphy.com/media/RHiD0K65NxxLO/giphy.gif[/video]

Any chance we can pronounce it Thuh Ohio State instead of Thee Ohio State?
 
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"Like other institutions, Ohio State works to vigorously protect the university's brand and trademarks," Davey told The Columbus Dispatch in a statement. "These assets hold significant value, which benefits our students and faculty and the broader community by supporting our core academic mission of teaching and research."

Huh? How?
 

Gonna need a bigger bag...

[video]https://media2.giphy.com/media/RHiD0K65NxxLO/giphy.gif[/video]

Any chance we can pronounce it Thuh Ohio State instead of Thee Ohio State?

That dude always looks like he's in the dome... but with padded seats.
 

THE Armpit of the Nation...Ohio State
 

"Like other institutions, Ohio State works to vigorously protect the university's brand and trademarks," Davey told The Columbus Dispatch in a statement. "These assets hold significant value, which benefits our students and faculty and the broader community by supporting our core academic mission of teaching and research."

Huh? How?

By filling the heads of the student body with illusions of grandeur.
 



yeah talk about Ego?

proper English and they want to Trademark the use of it.
 

I imagine their noses get bent out of shape when players from other schools use "The" during player introductions in NFL games, etc. I love it when they're tweaked like that. Hopefully THE United States of America will be able to show first use :)
 

What I think they are really trying to trademark is ‘The OSU’, which would most likely get Oklahoma State and Oregon State to push back.
 

I wonder how THE Columbus Dispatch feels about this?
 

They're not looking to trademark the literal word. They're looking to trademark it when used with the university's name on items marketed for sale (The Ohio State University™). Still might fail, but it's not as completely outlandish as it has been made to seem from most reports.

Their application is shown in the articles I've read, and it simply has "THE" as the text they are attempting to trademark. I don't see any mention of any context around it being tied to The Ohio State University. Maybe they think the all caps version of the word is what makes it unique enough to trademark.
 

I imagine their noses get bent out of shape when players from other schools use "The" during player introductions in NFL games, etc. I love it when they're tweaked like that. Hopefully THE United States of America will be able to show first use :)

A cool T-shirt of OSU would be (probably what they are thinking) would be just the word "THE" in buckeye red along with a little buckeye helmet sticker symbol on the side. That would fly off the shelves.

Would they need to Trademark "THE" to make that T-shirt? Lawyers?
 

A cool T-shirt of OSU would be (probably what they are thinking) would be just the word "THE" in buckeye red along with a little buckeye helmet sticker symbol on the side. That would fly off the shelves.

Would they need to Trademark "THE" to make that T-shirt? Lawyers?

I think you hit it spot on...having it on apparel, university marketing material, advertising, etc.

And don't forget tattoos.
 

A cool T-shirt of OSU would be (probably what they are thinking) would be just the word "THE" in buckeye red along with a little buckeye helmet sticker symbol on the side. That would fly off the shelves.

Would they need to Trademark "THE" to make that T-shirt? Lawyers?

That's exactly the sample they submitted with their trademark application. A red t-shirt with THE on the front, over a small logo. It's apparently already for sale. Their application might just get approved. Seems similar to the GOT MILK campaign.
 

I don’t think the word “the” would be registered by the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office unless the word is rendered in an artistic way that would be unique and virtually impossible to copy unintentionally.

And regardless of that I don’t think OSU would be able to win an infringement claim based on the requirements linked below. Read the first 4-5” of copy if you like or just read the first sentence. OSU is just not going to be able to prove any confusion is caused by someone else using the word “the.”

https://www.uspto.gov/page/about-trademark-infringement
 

Aren’t these pretentious p****s really trademarking the pronunciation of that word? I take great pleasure in intentionally pronouncing it “thu Ohio State University“ just to hear them squawk “THEE” OSU.
The blue bloods know no shame. North Carolina has, in essence, redefined “university”
 

What I think they are really trying to trademark is ‘The OSU’, which would most likely get Oklahoma State and Oregon State to push back.

How can you trade mark a DETERMINER like "THE"
 

Just when it seems certain we’ve hit peak dou**e a plucky Buckeye proves me wrong.

Is this one of those bull**** jobs I’ve been reading about. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bull****_Jobs

In Bull**** Jobs, American anthropologist David Graeber posits that the productivity benefits of automation have not led to a 15-hour workweek, as predicted by economist John Maynard Keynes in 1930, but instead to "bull**** jobs": "a form of paid employment that is so completely pointless, unnecessary, or pernicious that even the employee cannot justify its existence even though, as part of the conditions of employment, the employee feels obliged to pretend that this is not the case.


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