The New York Times Talks to Josh Gerben About How Ohio State University Can Use Its ‘THE’ Trademark

Earlier this week, the USPTO issued Ohio State University a trademark registration for “THE,” which has been the Buckeye’s rallying cry.

The New York Times and Josh Gerben discuss what protections the university is awarded through its trademark registration.

That specific focus is why Ohio State trademarking the common word won’t stop other companies from having the word “the” in their names or products, said Josh Gerben, a trademark lawyer. The trademark would be used only if someone were trying to represent Ohio State using the word, he said.

“Ohio State is not going to have a very broad amount of protection over the word,” he said. “This is a very, very narrow registration with very, very narrow enforcement capabilities associated with it.”

Source: Victor, Daniel. https://www.nytimes.com. “Ohio State University Trademarks ‘The’.” 23 June 2022.