The U.S. Olympic Committee is protesting an effort by the parent company of The Olympian, McClatchy Co., to trademark the newspaper's name, the Olympia, Washington newspaper reported Monday.

The Chicago Tribune observed that the move by USOC is "like the guy at the end of bar whose counter-argument to being called an angry drunk is always to start throwing punches."

USOC claims the newspaper's name infringes on the federally-protected use of the word Olympic, and most any derivation arising therefrom, in conjunction with its world games. A Seattle trademark lawyer notes that the specific legislation on which USOC relies to block McClatchy's claim also provides an exception for regional items not related to, and pre-existing, the games.

According to U.S. Patent & Trademark Office records, the newspaper's former owner, Knight Ridder, filed for trademark protection in October 2006. The trademark application was transferred to McClatchy in June 2007, in conjunction with McClatchy's purchase of the newspaper. The newspaper states it has been in circulation since 1889, which is contemporaneous with the onset of the modern olympic era.