What "THE"? Ohio State University Applies to Trademark "THE"

On August 8, 2019, Ohio State University filed application no. 88/571,984 with the USPTO for the trademark "THE". The application was brought to light by trademark attorney Josh Gerben on Twitter.

Filed in class 25, the application covers "Clothing, namely, t-shirts, baseball caps and hats." A specimen was submitted along with the application, showing a red Nike shirt brandishing the word "THE" in block text above the Ohio State University logo.

The "THE" application, as it appears on the USPTO's Trademark Status & Document Retrieval page.

Other universities have responded with ribbing, such as the University of Michigan's tweet of the word "OF" behind its logo.

​The application is now awaiting examination, but it may face some difficulty progressing to registration. For example, is the word "THE" sufficiently distinctive to warrant protection as a brand? We will continue to monitor this application for updates.

For further information on what constitutes a distinctive brand, contact us.

The Ohio State University has filed a trademark application on the word "THE."

The filing, made on August 8th, indicates #OhioState is offering a brand of "THE" clothing.

Not sure how 'The U' will feel about this one.

My analysis □:#BuckeyeNation #MiamiHurricanes pic.twitter.com/1UvLOAOnIc

— Josh Gerben (@JoshGerben) August 13, 2019

™ pic.twitter.com/bx2vTBUtst

— University of Michigan (@UMich) August 14, 2019