I was birn in 1979 and when i was about 4yrs old my mother read me some book with that saying in it.I do not remember the name of the book.But this memory is very vivid as my mom would always finish the book by saying i love you and when i responded i love you too she would say how much? And i would say to the moon and back and we would both giggle.Over the years I would sometimes remember that and suddenly in the past few years I have seen it everywhere.My mom has since passed away so it chokes me up seeing it sometimes.But yes, there was indeed a book with that phrase it way before whatever is popular now.
I wonder if the unorthodox version has been copyrighted too? 
Sam x
Itās a bit strange as the wording in the book is
" I love you right up to the moonā¦and back", so I love you to the moon and back isnāt the same!! Everyone I know says the second!!
Saw it on Valentines cards in Tesco yesterday, no mention of copyright on the back
Am I alone in thinking no-one should āownā words put in a certain order and be excluding everyone else in the world from using them? Crazy capitalist world we live in. Yes, I know Iām trying to make money from my craft but Iām not trying to stop anyone else from burning flowers and birds and insects onto bits of wood - try it people, itās fun!
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My comment here is not useful or even relevant to this thread in any way but I just thought I would mention that I really dislike the phrase āLove you lots, like Jellytotsā I donāt think anyone is making work with that phrase on though - lol!
It just reminds me of a Mummy/ Daughter duo when I used to take my boys to primary school and they used to do this little performance every morning at the school gate! It could have been sweet but Mummy always made sure other Mummyās could hear her little darlingās declaration of love - it was just a bit smug!
āLove you to the Moon and back thoughā - like others, I was sure it had been around forever! I donāt remember reading this book with my boys though but I had noticed a huge amount of work using this phrase. Iām sure Iāve still seen some recently, so people must still be unaware of the trademark or maybe they donāt care! It does seem a little bit odd that they can trademark something that they didnāt actually write - just something similar!
Iām with you on the smug parent scenario! Ewwwā¦!
If you were a writer you would have a different opinion on that 
It takes hard work to write prose or poetry or song lyrics - even advertising phrases - why would it be fair that someone could work at that but have everyone else make a profit from it? Itās no different to designing a character, or a logo - itās still someoneās brain child. And writing isnāt as easy as people thing - if it was, no-one else would want to be cashing in all of the time by using other peoplesā words.
However, so far as āI Love You to the Moon & Backā goes - I was surprised when it was trademarked, as it wasnāt created by the people trademarking, with many people saying they had commonly used the phrase many years before the book was published. However, it has been trademarked, so we have to abide by the law so far as using the phrase goes.
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@HelenSmith there is no longer copyright on the song Happy Birthdayā. It is now in the public domain so everyone can sing it āto their heartās contentā, but not me with my singing voiceāŗ
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How about āI love you to the Earthās Natural Satelliteā¦and Backā?
Or there are lots of other planets, constellations and āmoonsā.
Personally I think the phrase has been a little overused.
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The same people have also trade-marked
āWeāre going on a Bear Huntā
Hi Zoe, I know you posted this a long time ago but in 2007 I couldnāt find the music for this anywhere, so wrote it myself in the key I thought it could be sung at.
You can find the notes online now!!!
Sue
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" I love you for 238,900 miles and Back"
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I think I might get away with āI love you to the spoon and backā?
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