Can you trademark #coronavirus? It’s just one of many trying to cash in on pandemic

As the coronavirus pandemic rages on, resourceful entrepreneurs are trying to put their stamp on all sorts of goods and services.

The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office is looking at applications for anything from coronavirus “blues” gel caps for psychological and emotional issues to music albums to lots and lots of T-shirts, including “I survived coronavirus quarantine 2020” and “Warning My Ride is Sicker Than the Coronavirus.”

There’s an application for #coronavirus to be used on apparel ranging from aloha shirts to underwear.

Others include COVID-19 marathons, a blog for love and romance in the time of the coronavirus, a pandemic survival guide, a weight loss program named COVID-19 lbs. and logo for a vaccine — which has yet to be created.

Items more typically associated with a health care crisis also are among the applications.

“Coronavirus Free” is a trademark for medical products such as gloves, gowns and scrubs. A coronavirus detection kit advertises a nasal swab test with results in 40 minutes. Pharmaceutical company Eli Lilly and Company applied for trademarks on COV-BLOCK and COV-BEAT to be used in the medical and scientific research field.

On Friday, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office announced a program to fast track small business patent applications related to the pandemic. To qualify, the product must be subject to FDA approval for the prevention or treatment of COVID-19, officials said.

The agency estimates it can reach decisions on patent applications within six months.

“Independent inventors and small businesses are often the difference makers when it comes to cutting-edge innovation and the growth of our economy,” Andrei Iancu, director of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, said in a news release. “They are also in most need of assistance as we fight this pandemic. Accelerating examination of COVID-19-related patent applications, without additional fees, will permit such innovators to bring important and possibly life-saving treatments to market more quickly.”

This story was originally published May 8, 2020 at 10:42 AM with the headline "Can you trademark #coronavirus? It’s just one of many trying to cash in on pandemic."