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WEBVTT MIKE: ALL NEW ON 4. IT’S A WORD SYNONOMOUS WITH PITTSBURGH. TONIGHT AN OHIO COMPANY IS TRYING TO TRADEMARK THE TERM YINZER. ACCORDING TO THE U.S. TRADEMARK AND PATENT OFFICE, A CLOTHING CALLED HOMAGE APPLIED FOR THE TRADEMARK BACK IN SEPTEMBER. IT’S BASED IN COLUMBUS, OHIO AND EVEN RUNS A SHOP ON PENN AVENUE IN EAST LIBERTY. AT LAST CHECK THE APPLICATION HAS BEEN FILED, BUT NOT ASSIGNED TO AN EXAMINER. WE’VE REACHED OUT TO THE COMPANY FOR A COMMENT, BUT WE HAVEN’T HEARD BA

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A word synonymous with Pittsburgh, Yinzer. A Columbus-based company has submitted an application to trademark the term YINZER.According to the United States Patent and Trademark Office, a clothing company called Homage applied for the trademark back in September for T-shirts. The company is based in Columbus, Ohio, and runs a shop on Penn Avenue in East Liberty. At last check, the application has been filed, but not assigned to an examiner. Pittsburgh's Action News 4 reached out to Homage, you can read their statement below: We love paying “homage” to the city of Pittsburgh. From Manny Sanguillén to the Homestead Grays to Bruno Samartino — it’s a privilege to be in Pittsburgh to celebrate just some of the MANY things that make the Steel City so unique. In fact, earlier this month, we partnered with the Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh to raise money for the Impact Fund established in the wake of the tragedy at the Tree of Life synagogue. Being a part of the community is important to us.I'm not sure if you saw this in your research, but, back in 2011 or 2012, an individual from Pittsburgh living in California applied for (and was granted) a trademark for the phrase “Yinzer”. Wanting to celebrate the unique heritage of Western Pennsylvania, we reached out to the trademark holder and created a licensing agreement that involved quarterly royalty payments.Eventually, the trademark holder indicated that he had no desire to continue owning the trademark, so he let it lapse. And, in order to avoid any sort of “legal limbo”, we filed for the mark in September of this year.Our intention in filing for the trademark was never to aggressively enforce its use; rather, it was simply a decision to create some continuity with the intellectual property and continue selling shirts.We certainly understand how important the term “Yinzer” is to the city of Pittsburgh and would never want to alienate anyone living in a city that we love. We have several staff members from Pittsburgh, and it’s always fun around here when the Pittsburgh Spirit plays the Cleveland Force…. I mean….when the Steelers play the Browns! :)I sincerely apologize to anyone who may have been offended by our decision to file for the mark. It was never our intention to create controversy or to upset anyone. We’ve reached out to a Pittsburgh area non-profit with the hope of assigning the registration to them so that royalty payments could benefit the community."The company also said they have not heard back from the United States Patent and Trademark Office.