Ohio State has been denied in its initial attempts to trademark the most commonly used word in the English language. In its response, the U.S. Trademark Office pointed to a lack of making a case for significance in the request.
“The applied-for mark appears to be used in a merely decorative manner that would be perceived by consumers as having little or no particular source-identifying significance,” the Trademark Office concluded.
The university initially submitted the request so that it could use THE on clothing and merchandise because it has become synonymous as not only a part of the name of THE Ohio State University, but recognizable when describing Ohio State.
The response is not uncommon, and was even somewhat expected. Ohio State will now be allowed to amend and revise its submission if it would like to continue its efforts.
