Enclosing the language

In a posting headed "Robbing the Commons", Undernews reports that Harvard University has been busy registering trade marks for what it calls "everyday phrases". It quotes Rick Calixto, director of the Harvard Trademark Program, saying "You need to reserve something in case you intend to use it," he said. "We're strategically protecting it for use at some point down the line.'' Which is definitely not that I thought trade mark law was supposed to do.