Ohio State University Challenges Trademark Over Silly Football Rivalry
from the petty-petty dept
Ohio State University has had a history of being fairly ridiculous when it comes to trademarks. Whether its trademarking the word “the” (yes, seriously) or stretching the concept of public confusion so far that the school challenged the trademark for a random brand of vodka, the Buckeyes sure love some trademark shenanigans.
But I guess I didn’t realize just how petty and thin-skinned the folks that run OSU’s legal department are. The school has once again challenged a proposed trademark, claiming both the potential for confusion and tarnishment of its brand. The trademark in question would be for a Michigan restaurant’s proposed alcoholic drink called “Buckeye Tears.”
The university filed an Aug. 27 notice of opposition with the United States Patent and Trademark Office to contest an application by Ann Arbor restaurant The Brown Jug, Inc. The business is seeking to trademark “Buckeye Tears” for use with beer and liquor products.
In its filing, Ohio State said the mark could confuse consumers into thinking the university was connected to the products. The school cited the value of its brand, pointing out that its licensing program generated more than $145 million in royalties and roughly $2.2 billion in retail sales over the past decade. University attorneys also argued that associating alcohol with its athletics programs could damage its reputation and dilute the strength of its “Buckeyes” identity.
So, neither of those things are going to happen. Nobody is going to bat an eye at an alcoholic drink called “Buckeye Tears” thinking somehow that it means that the OSU brand endorses alcohol or whatever. I’m also quite sure that everyone assumes that roughly a metric ton of alcohol is consumed on OSU campus every week.
As for any amount of customer confusion, give me a break.
Trademark attorney Josh Gerben, who is not involved in the case, wrote in a post that Ohio State’s claim of consumer confusion may be difficult to prove.
“It’s hard to imagine consumers thinking that they are drinking a ‘BUCKEYE TEARS’ product made or licensed by the University,” Gerben wrote. “The fact that the applicant is based in Ann Arbor only strengthens the perception that this is a tongue-in-cheek nod to the Michigan rivalry, not a genuine product made by the University.”
I can promise you that every single person walking into this restaurant in Ann Arbor, where the University of Michigan is located, knows damn well that the Buckeye Tears they drink won’t have been endorsed by the Buckeyes themselves.
There’s being overly protectionist of trademarks and then there’s being downright petty over a football rivalry. Here’s hoping the USPTO gives OSU something to cry over.
Filed Under: buckeye tears, buckeyes, the, the brown jug, trademark
Companies: ohio state, ohio state university, the ohio state
Comments on “Ohio State University Challenges Trademark Over Silly Football Rivalry”
Why does everything have to be a trademark?
Every time someone sneezes they immediately rush off to the trademark office to register the sound.
What’s wrong with doing stuff and if someone else wants to do stuff to, then where’s the harm?
The restaurant wants to call their drink Buckeye Tears? Fine. If a restaurant in another town also calls their drink Buckeye Tears, why bother with the hassle of chasing some nebulous trademark infringement case instead of just running your restaurant and doing a good job of that.
Nobody can mow grass or shovel a sidewalk any more without calling their lawyer first. If nothing else, all of this “legalizing” a drag on innovation and economic activity.
Anyone who knows the Big Ten (I mean Twelve, I mean Fourteen, I mean Eighteen) will tell you, OSU is notoriously thin-skinned. Last year, they threw a fit that their rival team had a flag on the field to celebrate a victory, and started a brawl on the field.
Not that other teams are any idol of good behavior, but OSU is infamous for being crybabies about the dumbest things, especially when it involves Michigan.
OSU law firm
It seems Ohio State is being represented by the law firm of Streisand and Streisand.
I don’t care how hard Ohio State sues, it won’t stop the Buckeye Tears from flowing on November 29th.
I thought that seemed low, so…
The average alcohol consumption, per person at least 15 years of age, is listed as 9.6 L per year on Wikipedia. That’s 0.184 L per week.
The Columbus campus has more than 15,000 live-in students (out of 60,000 total); if they drink at that average rate, entirely on campus, it’d total 2,800 L per week. So more like 2.8 metric tons from that alone.
Of course, some of their drinking would likely be off campus, at least if they’re of age. But a lot of them won’t be of age, and maybe the students even drink more than average. Plus, non-residents are sometimes gonna be drinking on campus. It does contain the fifth-largest stadium in the world by seating capacity, after all—102,780 people—in which alcohol has been served “stadium-wide” since 2016. And several on-campus bars.
One ton is a fairly low guess for the amount of alcohol officially sold on campus per week (but might be reasonable if weeks outside the academic year are included in the average). As an estimate of total consumption, I suspect it’s way off.
"The Buckeye State"
Some readers, especially non-American ones, may not know that “Buckeye” is not just a name made up for the team. OSU “ripped it off” from the State of Ohio’s nickname, “the Buckeye state”.
They, in turn, took it from the name of a tree: “Aesculus glabra”, commonly known as “Ohio buckeye” (and “Texas buckeye”, but nevermind that…). The common name is a translation from the Shawnee-language name, derived from the tree’s markings resembling deer (“buck”) eyes.
It was also once considered an insulting term, when applied to people; given what’s happened with some other teams, that could eventually pop up out of nowhere to make things interesting.
OSU suing for more reasons than the name. It is because the drink has a very inappropriate taste. I heard it tastes like an examination room for a wrestling team.
Also, OSU has actually known about this for over 20 years, they just don’t want to admit they are aware of it and try not to talk about it. I’m surprised it’s finally being reported on.
It is stupid too. It would only be a trademark violation if it were called “‘The’ Buckeye Tears”.
Alcohol at OSU
“I’m also quite sure that everyone assumes that roughly a metric ton of alcohol is consumed on OSU campus every week.”
60,000 students x 1 liter/student = 60,000 liters = 60 metric tons
60 metric tons of alcohol per week
Fuck you, OSU. You don’t own the state name, or tree, or some dude in Michigan’s fucking stupid drink name. FOAD.
The standard for confusion isn’t “an OSU higher-up”, it’s “an idiot in a hurry”, which is a much higher bar to clear.