Can you trademark a hand symbol?

Watching Game day I am seeing al the SDSU fans throwing the Horns down and the NDSU hooking it.
Just wondering if a hand symbol can be trademarked?
Is ours?

 

Lord, I hope not. aggy sure acted like bitchez over the 12th man and Seahawks a few years back. I'd hate for it to turn into something like that...

 

No! Images or stylized drawings of hand gestures can function and be registered as trademarks either by themselves or as part of a design mark, but hand gestures by themselves cannot function as trademarks.

Gene Simmons tried to do that with the Devil's Horn hand signal 2 or 3 years ago, but dropped his application because there would be no practical way to enforce the trademark against others (“policing the mark”). So, the mere use of hand gestures cannot be registered as trademarks. That's about the extent of my knowledge about trademark registrations.

 

The crux of the issue.

 

I think Charlie's S. Fla. Bulls also do a hook em sign.

We've been doing this long before KISS ever took the stage (prior use).

Attempting a trademark on the hook em sign would be reminiscent of aOSU trying to get ownership of the word "The".

 

If, in the extremely unlikely event, this were to happen (and the equally extremely unlikely event it isn't overturned on a challenge), then I expect it's just a matter of time before somebody will try get a mark on the middle finger sign.

Talk about impossible to enforce ... Get that mark and cut someone off in traffic. He flips you the bird. You: "Hey you now owe me $20 for that pal!" The incidences of road rage would only increase.

 

Potentially, yes. But only if it were an image and not a physical gesture an individual uses by holding up his or her hand. Still might be tricky and difficult.

 

2-3 years ago?

well then, I might have to try and trademark "ok cool hookem" in about 20 years when it's no longer relevant.