Tim Tebow Wins Tebowing Trademark

Tim Tebow, the man responsible for Tebowing, has won the trademark for it.

Tebowing caught on across America in 2011. In the act, Tebow would kneel down and raise one arm up toward his helmet.

After being named the Denver Broncos starting quarterback in the sixth week of the 2011 NFL season, Tebow led the club to six straight victories and into the playoffs. There, the team won against the Pittsburgh Steelers in an AFC wild-card playoff game before it lost to the New England Patriots in an AFC divisional playoff game.

The Tebowing pose, usually performed after a touchdown, became a meme, and images of absurd cases of Tebowing spread across the Internet.

While fans took a fun approach to Tebowing, according to Tebow, the pose was more of a prayer. For Tebow, "It's something I do that's prayer for me and then it got hyped up as Tebowing. So I think [the trademarking is] just to control how it's used as well. Make sure it's used in the right way," according to ESPN New York.

Tebow was awarded the patent by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office on Oct. 9, ESPN reported, citing the Newsday daily newspaper based in Melville, N.Y. Tebow filed the paperwork for the trademark patent in April. Two other people also attempted to trademark Tebowing.

One person who filed for the trademark runs the Tebowing website, which hosts images of different people Tebowing. Some places where Tebowing has been performed include the front of the White House, the Great Wall of China, and a wedding, as well as before a surgical operation.

Tebow does not plan to print money with the Tebowing trademark. For now, Tebowing will rest quietly, and there will be no T-shirts, lunchboxes, posters, towels, or mugs that feature Tebowing. If Tebow does use the Tebowing trademark, chances are it will be for ways to benefit his charitable organization, the Tim Tebow Foundation.