Ohio State Buckeyes, Marc Jacobs come to trademark agreement
Ohio State University and fashion icon Marc Jacobs have mutually agreed to both use the word “THE” in marketing campaigns and officials slogan, pending United States Patent and Trademark Office approval. Insider’s Erin Snodgrass says the two groups “filed a Consent to Register Agreement Friday and have agreed to suspend opposition proceedings while they await further rulings from the Patent and Trademark Office.”
In 2019, Ohio State tried to trademark the word “THE”, but it was denied by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.
Rick Van Brimmer, Ohio State’s assistant vice president for trademark licensing services, explained to the Columbus Dispatch that filing for the trademark against Jacobs was due to “THE” being used in different spectrums.
“We were not trying to get exclusive right to ‘THE.’ … This thing is mostly about they’re staying in their lane and we’re staying our lane. They’re high-end apparel and accessories. We’re athletic-related, mostly leisure-wear items,” Van Brimmer said.
Josh Gerben, a prominent trademark lawyer in Washington, one who NBC News credited with discovering and publicizing the application, broke down the 2019 decision to deny Ohio State’s request, noting that the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office found that Ohio State “is not using the word ‘THE’ as a trademark” and that Jacobs filed an application for ’THE’ before Ohio State did.
ESPN college football analyst and former Ohio State quarterback Kirk Herbstreit said after Ohio State’s filing that he thought Ohio State’s trademark request was “kind of ridiculous.”
“I’ve never really bought into that,” Herbstreit said. “My dad played at Ohio State, my dad coached with Woody Hayes. Ohio State’s always been Ohio State. I have a diploma that I’m looking at right now, and it says, ‘The’ — T-H-E — Ohio State University, and nobody’s called it ‘The’ Ohio State University, ever, as I grew up in the ‘70s, ‘80s and ‘90s. And then one night on Monday Night Football — I don’t remember who the player was but he said, ‘The Ohio State University,’ and it stuck.
“And from that point on, all the fans and everybody started saying ‘The,’ ‘The’ ‘The.’ To me, it’s Ohio State — always has been, always will be. I think it’s kind of ridiculous, the whole ‘The’ thing. It comes across to me as very arrogant. I’m just not a fan of it. I didn’t grow up with it. Nobody’s more Ohio State than me, and I never heard it. I never heard ‘The’ in my life until maybe about 15 years ago.”
Ohio State filed for a trademark with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office in early August, with Gerben discovering the application — No. 88571984 — and publicizing it, per NBC News. Per the application, Ohio State sought a trademark on the single word “THE” for use on T-shirts and baseball caps and hats.
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