Knobbe Martens partner Jeff Van Hoosear was quoted by World Intellectual Property Review in the article “Trademarking ‘The’: a lesson in emphasis and cooperation”. The article discusses a case in which The Ohio State University and fashion label Marc Jacobs both successfully trademarked ‘THE’, one of the most common words in the English language, for use on its branded apparel.
Van Hoosear comments how he did not find the case surprising, based on the fact that ‘the’ is a common word. “It is not any different than other common words—such as ‘and’ and ‘or’—that are also registered trademarks,” he says. And he adds that the way Ohio State’s and Marc Jacobs’ application was processed at the USPTO was “very routine”.
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