This blog has followed the evolving judicial views concerning disparaging trademarks, culminating in the Supreme Court’s decision in in Matal v. Tam, 137 S. Ct. 1744 (June 19, 2017)....more
1/8/2019
/ Disparagement ,
Fashion Design ,
Fashion Industry ,
First Amendment ,
Free Speech ,
Lanham Act ,
Matal v Tam ,
Petition for Writ of Certiorari ,
Trademark Registration ,
Trademarks ,
USPTO
The Ninth Circuit extended the First Amendment protections enunciated by the Supreme Court in Matal v. Tam, 137 S.Ct. 1744 (2017) to advertising in American Freedom Defense Initiative, et al. v. King County (9th Cir. Sept....more
The Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit recently extended First Amendment protections for trademark applications in In re Brunetti, No. 15-1109 (Fed. Cir. December 15, 2017), ruling that Section 2(a) of the Lanham Act’s...more
12/28/2017
/ Appeals ,
Constitutional Challenges ,
Disparagement ,
Fashion Design ,
Fashion Industry ,
First Amendment ,
Free Speech ,
Intellectual Property Protection ,
Lanham Act ,
Matal v Tam ,
Scandalous/Immoral Marks ,
Trademark Registration ,
Trademarks ,
USPTO
In a unanimous (albeit fractured) decision written by Justice Alito, the United States Supreme struck down a provision of the Lanham (Trademark) Act barring registration of “disparaging” trademarks, handing a victory to...more
6/21/2017
/ Disparagement ,
First Amendment ,
Football ,
Free Speech ,
Lanham Act ,
Matal v Tam ,
Music Industry ,
NFL ,
Redskins ,
SCOTUS ,
Team Mascots ,
The Slants ,
Trademark Registration ,
Trademarks ,
USPTO
The Supreme Court rejected the effort by the Washington Redskins to skip the 4th Circuit and Join the hearing of the USPTO appeal of the SLANTS case....more
10/5/2016
/ Disparagement ,
First Amendment ,
Football ,
Free Speech ,
Music ,
Music Industry ,
NFL ,
Redskins ,
SCOTUS ,
Sports ,
The Slants ,
Trademark Registration ,
Trademarks ,
USPTO
The Supreme Court granted the United States Patent and Trademark Office’s petition for certiorari in In re Tam, 117 USPQ2d 1101 (Fed. Cir. 2016). In that case, the USPTO denied registration of an application to register the...more
10/3/2016
/ Disparagement ,
First Amendment ,
Football ,
Free Speech ,
Lanham Act ,
Music ,
Music Industry ,
Petition for Writ of Certiorari ,
Redskins ,
SCOTUS ,
The Slants ,
Trademark Registration ,
Trademarks ,
USPTO
In response to the United States Patent and Trademark Office’s (“USPTO”) petition for writ of certiorari in to the U.S. Supreme Court In re Tam (“THE SLANTS” case), the owners of the Washington Redskins filed their own...more
5/2/2016
/ Blackhorse v Pro-Football ,
Disparagement ,
Due Process ,
Fifth Amendment ,
Football ,
Native American Issues ,
NFL ,
Petition for Writ of Certiorari ,
Redskins ,
The Slants ,
Trademark Trial and Appeal Board ,
Trademarks ,
USPTO
On April 20, 2016, the United States Patent and Trademark Office (“PTO”) filed a petition for a writ of certiorari to the Federal Circuit seeking Supreme Court review of that Court’s decision in In re Tam, 117 USPQ2d 1001...more
4/25/2016
/ Disparagement ,
First Amendment ,
Free Speech ,
Lanham Act ,
Petition for Writ of Certiorari ,
SCOTUS ,
Strict Scrutiny Standard ,
The Slants ,
Trademark Registration ,
Trademark Trial and Appeal Board ,
Trademarks ,
Unconstitutional Condition ,
USPTO
In a landmark First Amendment decision relating to the Lanham (Trademark) Act, the Federal Circuit, en banc, struck down § 2(a) of the Lanham Act, 15 U.S.C. § 1052(a), the statutory provision barring registration of...more
In a landmark First Amendment decision relating to the Lanham (Trademark) Act, the Federal Circuit, en banc, struck down § 2(a) of the Lanham Act, 15 U.S.C. § 1052(a), the statutory provision barring registration of...more