It hasn’t been a good week for the state of Ohio and trademarks.
Ohio State University’s bid to trademark “The” and Akron native LeBron James’ request to trademark “Taco Tuesday” were both rejected by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office this week.
OSU’s application asked to use the word “The” in capital letters in front of the school’s name on T-shirts, baseball caps and hats, according to The Columbus Dispatch.
“As such, 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 patent office said in denying Ohio State’s request.
The trademark office had a different reason for rejecting James’ request and said Taco Tuesday” is “a commonplace term.”
“The applied-for mark is a commonplace term, message, or expression widely used by a variety of sources that merely conveys an ordinary, familiar, well-recognized concept or sentiment message,” the office wrote.
A spokesperson for James told ESPN the application was filed to ensure the NBA star can’t be sued for using “Taco Tuesday.”
“Finding ‘Taco Tuesday’ as commonplace achieves precisely what the intended outcome was, which was getting the U.S. government to recognize that someone cannot be sued for its use,” the spokesperson said.
Maybe James and The U should simply combine their efforts and trademark “The Taco Tuesday.”
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