Sarah Bird at SEOmoz uncovered an interesting, and brain-bending, application for federal registration of the term SEO for “Marketing services in the field of computers in the nature of providing marketing services for the benefit of others by compiling advertising campaigns, promotional services, and consulting for customers”. SEO generally stands for “search engine optimization,” which Wikipedia defines as both a process and a strategy intended to improve a website’s visibility in search engine results. Frankly, I’m not sure the described services are related to search engine optimization, but then I’m not an SEO professional. Those who are SEO professionals are of course not pleased that the PTO apparently succumbed to the applicant’s Jedi Mind Tricks, and may object.
Frankly, the prosecution history has twisted me around a few times, and I’ll need to read it over a few more to get a grip on the thing.