Can Proctor and Gamble, the largest name in consumer-packaged goods, trademark terms like LOL and WTF?
P&G, the world’s largest advertiser, recently filed several applications with the USPTO for the phrases “WTF,” “LOL,” “FML” and “NBD” to be used in commerce on or in connection with several as-yet-unnamed products related to “laundry detergents; fabric softeners; laundry fabric conditioner.” P&G can feasibly obtain these acronym trademarks because there is a difference between having a monopoly on a word or phrase and possessing exclusive rights to use the word or phrase in connection with specified products and services. For instance, the phrase “S.O.S.” is an international code signal of extreme distress, used especially by ships at sea, and is part of common English vernacular. “S.O.S” is also the trademarked name of a cleaning product, namely, steel wool pads, produced by The Clorox Company. While anyone can yell or otherwise communicate “S.O.S” if they are in a ship taking on water and without being liable for infringement, there can only be one brand of steel wool pads with that name. Under trademark law, so long as the mark is not directly related to the function of the specific products or services themselves, such phrases can potentially be registered. That being said, “LOL” has been allowed for comedy shows, and the Trademark Office has not found enough of a relation so as to require a disclaimer. As a result, P&G may very well obtain the exclusive rights to use these phrases in connection with their cleaning products.