On June 24, 2019, the US Supreme Court clarified that the Lanham Act’s bar on “immoral” or “scandalous” trademarks violates the First Amendment because it discriminates based on viewpoint. The decision followed the Supreme...more
6/26/2019
/ Appeals ,
Constitutional Challenges ,
First Amendment ,
Free Speech ,
Iancu v. Brunetti ,
Lanham Act ,
Reaffirmation ,
Reversal ,
Scandalous/Immoral Marks ,
SCOTUS ,
Trademark Registration ,
Trademarks ,
USPTO ,
Viewpoint Discrimination
The landmark case, Matal v. Tam, forever altered the innocence of the trademark landscape. The case, interestingly enough, involved a musical group wanting to trademark a seemingly disparaging mark. ...more
5/18/2018
/ Blackhorse v Pro-Football ,
Disparagement ,
First Amendment ,
Free Speech ,
Lanham Act ,
Matal v Tam ,
Scandalous/Immoral Marks ,
Slurs ,
The Slants ,
Trademark Manual of Examining Procedure (TMEP) ,
Trademark Registration ,
USPTO
On June 19, 2017, the US Supreme Court in Matal v. Tam unanimously affirmed a decision by the US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit that Section 2(a) of the Lanham Act, which precludes “disparaging” trademark...more
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, en banc, has ruled that Section 2(a) of the Lanham Act precluding “disparaging” trademark registrations is unconstitutional, rejecting the argument that trademark...more