Global trade mark news changes fast. Keeping up with developments affecting major brands, trade mark battles and general Intellectual Property (IP) updates can be difficult. Here’s a round-up of the major trade mark headlines from LinkedIn to keep you up to date.
- Ohio State University failed to trade mark the word “The” –Trademark Lawyer, 12 September 2019
Ohio State University has learned that its trade mark application for the word ‘The’ has been refused by the USPTO. The institution originally attempted to trade mark the word in order to use it on merchandise and clothing. The rationale was that the university’s full name is ‘The Ohio State University’.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, the trade mark application was denied by the US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). The office refused on the grounds that the applied-for mark does not “function as a trade mark to indicate the applicant’s clothing from others”.
Ohio State has six months to respond to this decision. It’s not the university’s first attempt to trade mark something that became controversial. In 2017, Ohio State attempted to trade mark the initials ‘OSU’ also for merchandise and clothing. However, Oklahoma State University contested the application. In the end both institutions agreed to continue to use the initials. For full details see the post from the Trademark Lawyer here.
