Having elevated the phrase from a marketer's imagination to part of the lexicon in less than two years, Apple last week was awarded a trademark on the ubiquitous "There's an app for that."

The company had filed its application for the trademark on Dec. 4, 2009, citing a first use on Jan. 26 of that year.

From Trademarkia.com:

The THERE'S AN APP FOR THAT trademark is filed in the category of Advertising, Business & Retail Services , Computer & Software Services & Scientific Services . The description provided to the USPTO for THERE'S AN APP FOR THAT is "Retail store services featuring computer software provided via the Internet and other computer and electronic communication networks; retail store services featuring computer software for use on handheld mobile digital electronic devices and other consumer electronics."

As you know, the phrase has come to be something of a crutch for headline writers, including yours truly.

There's even a Web site called App For That devoted to nothing but cranking out parodies of the slogan. (At least there is one until Apple's legal department gets around to cranking out one of those cease and desist letters.)

And if you want to see how it was lampooned at CollegeHumor.com, there's a video for that.

(Note: I removed a video that had been here earlier.)

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