First Amendment Allows Registration of Disparaging Trademarks
In a case we’ve been watching since early 2016 (see First Amendment Confusion for Trademark Practitioners, NJSBA CommunityNet blog, Jan. 2016), the U.S. Supreme Court recently decided that denying registration for disparaging trademarks is an unconstitutional infringement of freedom of speech rights under the First Amendment.
In December 2015, the Federal Circuit decided that the USPTO may not refuse to register a trademark that it finds to be disparaging. The appeal was brought by Simon Tam on behalf of his band, The Slants, whose name was denied registration as a trademark because the USPTO found it to be disparaging. The Supreme Court has now agreed in a unanimous decision, which you can read here.
My bet is that the owners of the Washington Redskins are ecstatic.
For more information, see: http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/thr-esq/supreme-court-strikes-down-rule-disparaging-trademarks-1006208