4 ms·

Nothing at all. It would be an issue if the shirt was only THE in all caps, and nothing else. And even then it might not be an issue if it were in pink and ora

Nothing at all. It would be an issue if the shirt was only THE in all caps, and nothing else. And even then it might not be an issue if it were in pink and orange (although it still might). The analogy with npm works: thesportsballteam is a distinct package.

ziddoap 4y ago
The possibility that I can't put "THE", literally the most common word, on a hat or other sportswear sort of makes my point. Absolutely absurd trademark.
- et2o 4y ago
  That's not true at all, though. Y9u can absolutely do that as long as it's not in red and grey and sold in places customary to collegiate athletics.
  - tzs 4y ago
    That's not quite correct. It's a word mark not a design mark so color does not matter. See [1] or [2]. [1] https://www.nbc4i.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/18/2022/06/the.pdf https://www.nbc4i.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/18/2022/06/th... [2] https://tsdr.uspto.gov/#caseNumber=88571984&caseType=SERIAL_NO&searchType=statusSearch https://tsdr.uspto.gov/#caseNumber=88571984&caseType=SERIAL_...
- joshuamorton 4y ago
  Why? What reason would you have to put "THE" (and nothing else) on a piece of sportsware?
  - ziddoap 4y ago
    What does it matter?
    - joshuamorton 4y ago
      Because if the only reason is to impersonate or antagonize[*] Ohio State, the trademark makes sense! [*]: Fair use nonwidthstanding
- tshaddox 4y ago
  No, it's not absurd, and you can still put the word "the" on clothing so long as consumers are not likely to mistake your products as originating from Ohio State University. Any sensationalist portrayal of this or any other trademark as "owning a word," or "owning a color," etc. completely misses the point of trademarks.
  - ziddoap 4y ago
    >you can still put the word "the" on clothing so long as consumers are not likely to mistake your products as originating from Ohio State University It feels like half the people replying here have never been the victim of over-zealous patent and/or trademark lawyers before. OSU just needs to sue whoever puts "THE" on whatever they want, claim that it will confuse people, and then the poor bloke who put "THE" on his coffee mug or whatever has to spend thousands of dollars proving to the courts that a coffee mug wont be confused with a football team. And of course it would never be confused for a football team. Yet, they still have to go through the motions, spend the money, or cease & desist. It happens frequently, frequently enough that there are lawyers specifically known for patent and trademark trolling!
    - tshaddox 4y ago
      Just make the arguments about fundamental problems with the legal system. This is a sensational portrayal of a specific trademark that riles people up because it involves an extremely common English word, but of course anyone who has read about trademarks for a few minutes knows that this is nothing at all like "owning the word 'the'" or "having the right to sue anyone who puts the word 'the' on any clothing."

ziddoap 4y ago

The possibility that I can't put "THE", literally the most common word, on a hat or other sportswear sort of makes my point. Absolutely absurd trademark.

et2o 4y ago
That's not true at all, though. Y9u can absolutely do that as long as it's not in red and grey and sold in places customary to collegiate athletics.
- tzs 4y ago
  That's not quite correct. It's a word mark not a design mark so color does not matter. See [1] or [2]. [1] https://www.nbc4i.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/18/2022/06/the.pdf https://www.nbc4i.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/18/2022/06/th... [2] https://tsdr.uspto.gov/#caseNumber=88571984&caseType=SERIAL_NO&searchType=statusSearch https://tsdr.uspto.gov/#caseNumber=88571984&caseType=SERIAL_...
joshuamorton 4y ago
Why? What reason would you have to put "THE" (and nothing else) on a piece of sportsware?
- ziddoap 4y ago
  What does it matter?
  - joshuamorton 4y ago
    Because if the only reason is to impersonate or antagonize[*] Ohio State, the trademark makes sense! [*]: Fair use nonwidthstanding
tshaddox 4y ago
No, it's not absurd, and you can still put the word "the" on clothing so long as consumers are not likely to mistake your products as originating from Ohio State University. Any sensationalist portrayal of this or any other trademark as "owning a word," or "owning a color," etc. completely misses the point of trademarks.
- ziddoap 4y ago
  >you can still put the word "the" on clothing so long as consumers are not likely to mistake your products as originating from Ohio State University It feels like half the people replying here have never been the victim of over-zealous patent and/or trademark lawyers before. OSU just needs to sue whoever puts "THE" on whatever they want, claim that it will confuse people, and then the poor bloke who put "THE" on his coffee mug or whatever has to spend thousands of dollars proving to the courts that a coffee mug wont be confused with a football team. And of course it would never be confused for a football team. Yet, they still have to go through the motions, spend the money, or cease & desist. It happens frequently, frequently enough that there are lawyers specifically known for patent and trademark trolling!
  - tshaddox 4y ago
    Just make the arguments about fundamental problems with the legal system. This is a sensational portrayal of a specific trademark that riles people up because it involves an extremely common English word, but of course anyone who has read about trademarks for a few minutes knows that this is nothing at all like "owning the word 'the'" or "having the right to sue anyone who puts the word 'the' on any clothing."