All posts by Alan Macek

Disparaging Marks

Yesterday, the United States Supreme Court issued its decision in Matal v. Tam where the US Patent and Trademark Office had denied an application for “The Slants” under a Lanham Act provision prohibiting the registration of trademarks that may “disparage . . . or bring . . . into contemp[t] or disrepute” any “persons, living or dead.”  The court held that the disparagement clause violates the First Amendment’s Free Speech Clause. (link)