Ohio State University has won its fight to trademark the word "The"

STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:

Good morning. I'm Steve Inskeep. The Ohio State University - you know how they emphasize that the? Anyway, the Ohio State University had a victory at the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. It received a patent on the most common word in the English language. It can use the article the on Ohio State clothing. It's a big item in the news.

UNIDENTIFIED PERSON: That's $5 for the the, please.

INSKEEP: Luckily, the trademark applies to clothing, not conversation. It's Morning the Edition. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.