After nearly three years of waiting, Ohio State has successfully trademarked “THE” as of Tuesday. Now when the Buckeyes scream THE OHIO STATE UNIVERSITY in your face, they have the full support of the United States government.
The university filed the application in August 2019 with the United States Patent and Trademark Office but it was officially denied on Sept. 11, 2019. The USPTO cited that the trademark was “merely ornamental” and the company Marc Jacobs had already filed an application for “THE” several months before.
Ohio State argued that the trademark wouldn’t be ornament and also opposed Marc Jacobs’s application.