Ohio State, Marc Jacobs Reach Agreement on Usage of 'THE' Trademark

Mark Duncan/Associated Press

The Ohio State University and fashion designer Marc Jacobs, who have fought over the usage of the "THE" trademark, reached an agreement in which each side can use it pending United States Patent and Trademark Office approval.

Erin Snodgrass of Insider provided more information: "The two groups filed a Consent to Register Agreement Friday and have agreed to suspend opposition proceedings while they await further rulings from the Patent and Trademark Office."

Rick Van Brimmer, Ohio State's assistant vice president for trademark licensing services, spoke with Mark Williams of the Columbus Dispatch.

"We were not trying to get exclusive right to 'THE.' ... This thing is mostly about they're staying in their lane and we're staying our lane. They're high-end apparel and accessories. We're athletic-related, mostly leisure-wear items," Van Brimmer said. He also said the agreement was a "desired outcome."

The fight over "THE" began in 2019. Josh Gerben of Gerben Intellectual Property tweeted in August 2019 that Ohio State filed a trademark application with the Patent and Trademark Office for the word "THE":

Eric Heisig of Cleveland.com reported in March 2020 that OSU asked the office to reconsider a September 2019 decision in which it rejected the school's attempt to trademark "THE."

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"The university's statement called their new filing a 'defensive action' in response to Jacobs' own appeal and said his planned use of 'THE' on a shirt encroaches on how OSU uses it," Heisig wrote.

Gerben noted in March that OSU had a pending trademark application:

On Friday, he said OSU had filed a "notice of opposition" to Jacobs' application on the grounds that the school owned "THE":

Ben Johnson, an OSU spokesman, then told Gerben the school and Jacobs had reached an agreement. The sides will await word from the United States Patent and Trademark Office.