Ohio State denied trademark for word ‘the’ because … the font is too big

Most people would probably laugh at Ohio State University’s trademark application for the word “THE” in capital letters.

It’s the best example of the taxpayer-funded institution’s cultish belief that it is the most perfect, unique snowflake in higher ed (“THE Ohio State University”). Another example: its extortion attempts against bakeries that take sports-themed orders.

But trademark reviewers take these unintentional-joke applications seriously, and rendered a preliminary verdict this week, The Plain Dealer reports.

The “office action” letter from the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office provides two grounds for rejection. The first is that the fashion brand Marc Jacobs sought to trademark “the” three months before Ohio State filed its application. (The Marc Jacobs application suffered a technical snafu last month.)

The second is related to Ohio State’s massive ego (citations omitted):

More