Ohio State receives official trademark decision for 'THE'

Ohio State has finally received some good news on the trademark front after a nearly 3-year long battle.

In the fall of 2019, Ohio State had officially submitted a trademark request for use of the word “THE” on clothing and merchandise. That request was initially denied for a number of reasons.

According to trademark attorney Josh Gerben, the initial request of Ohio State was denied due to a ruling that stated the trademark was ornamental and that the clothing company Marc Jacobs had previously filed a trademark request for use of “THE.”

The Buckeyes addressed those issues by proving their use of “THE” is more than ornamental. Ohio State and Marc Jacobs also reached an agreement that both parties can use “THE.”

Quite a win for the Buckeyes.

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

Ohio State responded by:

1. Showing the USPTO that it was not using the trademark in a mearly ornamental manner, and

2. Opposing Marc Jacobs’ trademark application for the word “THE.”https://t.co/2EDVEbIkhK

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— Josh Gerben (@JoshGerben) June 22, 2022

After the settlement agreement was reached with Marc Jacobs in August 2021, it took until yesterday (June 21, 2022) for Ohio State to continue to clean up the “merely ornamental” issue with the USPTO and go through the rest of the application process.

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— Josh Gerben (@JoshGerben) June 22, 2022