Ridiculous. Nobody should be able to patent 19-0. The U.S. patent system is a complete joke.
They did not apply for a patent. They applied for a trademark at the United States Patent and Trademark Office. Big difference. A patent is for a useful device or method, and has nothing to do with a catch phrase like "19-0." On the other hand, a trademark is a name or phrase that is specifically used in the selling of goods, in this case, most likely T-shirts, hats, etc. There are literally hundreds of classes of trademarks, and the trademark for '19-0,' assuming it had been properly registered after examination, would only cover goods in the relevant class(es). Think of it this way, the word, "Acme" could be registered by hundreds of different trademark owners, all holding the same trademark, but in different trademark classes, based on the type of goods sold.Dissertation on Intellectual Property rights over. Hope that helped
