procter & gamble internet acronyms
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Procter & Gamble trying to trademark internet acronyms is LOL-worthy

You might not know what Procter & Gamble is by name, but chances are you’ve used some of their products. The brand own Crest, oral-B, Febreze, Olay, Always, Gain, Pantene, Bounty, Herbal Essences, Old Spice, Vicks, Secret, Gillette and many, many more.

Despite already being one of the leading consumer brands, P&G are apparently on a quest to own some of the internet’s most common acronyms.

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P&G previously attempted to file a trademark for LOL, WTF, NBD and FML. While this first attempt failed, P&G have since filed a second application claiming laundry uses as the reason after questioned by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.

P&G also filed new applications to trademark NSFW, FOMO, FTW and TL;DR to be used in marketing their array of household products, according to AdAge.

FML was given a preliminary rejection as a cosmetics marketer, FML Cosmetics, already owns the trademark. P&G’s application claimed it was going to use it for “liquid non-medicated soap,” and the patent office deemed that too close to the other marketer.

The patent office also questioned what air fresheners will include the acronyms and to clarify if LOL stands for “laugh out loud.” We can’t make this up.

The Fashion Law blog speculates P&G may run into the issue of “scandalous or vulgar” on several of their desired trademarks. Pussy Riot and Thunderpussy have both had their applications declined on similar grounds, according to Bloomberg.

P&G spokesman Damon Jones told AdAge the brand’s applications relate to “a potential creative direction for a future project.” He also states, “If I told you what LOL would stand for, in this context, I’d be tipping our hand so…IDK what to say about that.”

Looks like only time will tell, but we guess that’s NBD.