Big thanks to my mom for alerting me to this new development:
We will not have a USC v. USC at the U.S. Supreme Court. As previously blogged here, the University of South Carolina and the University of Southern California duked it out on a trademark issue recently, with the REAL USC (South Carolina) taking a shiner.
As reported by the Associated Press, the Supreme Court has declined to hear the case, thus leaving in place the Federal Circuit’s decision that prevents USC (the real one) from obtaining a federal trademark registration for its own “SC” logo. See WIS-TV story here.
Note – the story states that “Courts have rejected South Carolina’s trademark.” NO, NO, NO, NO, and NO!!! The United States Patent and Trademark Office rejected South Carolina’s trademark application. South Carolina can still use the logo as their trademark – they simply cannot get the benefit of federal registration. And while we’re on the “what makes an anal IP attorney cringe” kick, don’t use “trademark” as a verb. Ever. You do not “trademark” something. People typically mean “apply for a trademark registration” when they use trademark as a verb.
