According to a search of TESS at the US Patent and Trademark Office reveals that the trademark on the term SEO is considered live.
Word Mark SEO
Goods and Services IC 035. US 100 101 102. G & S: Marketing services in the field of computers in the nature of providing marketing services for the benefit of others by compiling advertising campaigns, promotional services, and consulting for customers. FIRST USE: 20070214. FIRST USE IN COMMERCE: 20070214
Standard Characters Claimed
Mark Drawing Code (4) STANDARD CHARACTER MARK
Serial Number 77171330
Filing Date May 2, 2007
Current Filing Basis 1A
Original Filing Basis NO FILING BASIS
Published for Opposition March 25, 2008
Owner (APPLICANT) Jason Gambert INDIVIDUAL UNITED STATES 10001 Woodcreak Oaks Blvd. Suite 1627 Roseville CALIFORNIA 95747
Type of Mark SERVICE MARK
Register PRINCIPAL
Live/Dead Indicator LIVE
Does this guy really think that filing a trademark on the term SEO in 2007 will supercede the rights of people who have been using that term since 1997? A story from MediaPost covers the origins of the term SEO and also explains a little of what Jason Gambert, the above trademark applicant, is trying to do here.
In a 2004 thread at Search Engine Watch forums, Danny Sullivan took a deeper dive and found the earliest archived reference to the phrase in a July 27, 1997 Internet marketing sales pitch posted on Usenet, and archived in Google Groups.
The post was made by someone from ascella.net, which was run by a company named “American Academy of Practice Marketing,” at least according to the Usenet message. I looked up various registrants of the name “ascella.net,” and found that it was registered to Per Dahlin of Sweden as early as 2001, under the name of “Online Marketers Association.” The archived 2001 record showed that the name was originally registered on February 11, 1997, so it is possible that Dahlin was the registrant of the domain at the time of the Usenet post.
The domain later changed registrants, most likely through a registry drop, and was picked up by RareNames/BuyDomains. The domain “ascella.net” again changed registrants during the week of April 20 – 27, 2007, from RareNames/Buydomains.com, to “Modern Consulting Solutions,” a company that is currently applying for a US trademark on the term “SEO.”
So basically, this guy went back in history to long before he was even doing SEO and found a domain name that was associated with a post about SEO and now he wants a trademark on the term SEO.
Well, I’ve checked the origins of the word sex. Meaning “sexual intercourse” first attested 1929 (in writings of D.H. Lawrence). Now I think I’ll go register sex as a trademark, then I will retroactively sue everyone in the world because you have all used the word sex at some point.
That isn’t much more ridiculous than what this guy is trying to do with the trademark on SEO. The very fact that the patent office hasn’t just rejected this application shows that our government agencies really should not be allowed to run anything associated with the Internet.
They don’t hire anyone that understands it. They hire a few lawyers and of course they know EVERYTHING. Just ask them. But it has been shown in domain name disputes, IP attrorneys have very little understanding of the Internet.