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The Supreme Court on Thursday said it would decide, once and for all, whether federal intellectual property regulators can refuse to issue trademarks with disparaging or inappropriate names.
At the center of the issue is a section of trademark law that actually forbids the US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) from approving a trademark if it "consists of or comprises immoral, deceptive, or scandalous matter; or matter which may disparage or falsely suggest a connection with persons, living or dead, institutions, beliefs, or national symbols, or bring them into contempt, or disrepute."
The case before the justices, which they will hear sometime in the upcoming term beginning in October, concerns the Portland-based Asian-American rock band called the Slants. Previously, decisions have come down on both sides regarding trademarking offensive names. The most notable denial is likely the name of the NFL's Washington franchise, "Redskins." But lesser known denials include "Stop the Islamization of America," "The Christian Prostitute," "AMISHHOMO," "Mormon Whiskey," "Ride Hard Retard," "Abort the Republicans," and "Democrats Shouldn't Breed."
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday October 01 2016, @06:23PM
In college I had a t-shirt with a huge hairy disembodied vagina on a paisley background, all printed in black and white so it kind of looked like some weird organic/geometric art. The caption said "Read my lips ..." (I can't remember the rest of what it said, something pro-abortion though, right around the time of the famous "read my lips, no new taxes" line). Nobody ever noticed, or if they did, nobody ever said anything.