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Penn State moves to trademark the Happy Valley nickname

Penn State wants to trademark the term Happy Valley, which refers to the school's rural setting in the mountains of central Pennsylvania

File photograph of the Old Main building on the Penn State campus. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)
File photograph of the Old Main building on the Penn State campus. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)Read moreAP
    by The Associated Press, AP_pmn_1
    Published 

STATE COLLEGE, Pa. (AP) — It's sometimes called State College and sometimes University Park, but Penn State wants to ensure it holds the trademark when it's called Happy Valley.

The Centre Daily Times reported Wednesday the university asked the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office last month to trademark the term that refers to the school's setting in the mountains of central Pennsylvania.

The application says it wants to use the term on clothing and headgear.

The paper says that the trademark had been registered but that the holder didn't renew it.

A Penn State spokeswoman says the school wants to consult local government and business leaders about the use of the term.

The newspaper says one of its columnists apparently popularized the term in a 1962 piece headlined, “Happy Valley and the Jet Age.”