For over a century, Ohio State has officially been known as “The Ohio State University” – a fact that its athletes proudly tell everyone. But this month the school decided that they’re going to enforce the word “The” at the start of their name as a matter of law.
According to trademark attorney Josh Gerben, Ohio State has formally registered a trademark for “THE.” The registration was issued on Tuesday by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.
This trademark will allow Ohio State to produce clothing like shirts, caps and hats with the word “THE” on it. The ruling comes three years after Ohio State initially filed for the trademark.
Gerben explained that it may not have taken as long for Ohio State to get the trademark had they not been simultaneously battling another clothing company trying to get it themselves. That dispute was eventually settled, paving the way for Ohio State to get the long-desired trademark.
College sports fans are pretty confused by why Ohio State went to these lengths to enforce that they’re the biggest school to use the word “The.”
“I always thought THE was so damn extra of them lol,” one fan replied.
“I am not a lawyer but this seems incredibly dumb,” wrote another.
But if you’ve ever watched Sunday Night Football and heard a former Buckeye proclaim where they’re from, you can pretty much tell how much it means to them.