TM Blog
Federal Circuit Declares Refusal of Disparaging Marks Unconstitutional
An en banc panel of the Federal Circuit has ruled that the Lanham Acts prohibition of registration for scandalous, immoral, or disparaging marks is unconstitutional. For over thirty years the courts and the USPTO have relied on the McGinley ruling to justify refusing the registration of such marks with the argument that the speech wasn't prohibited, just the registration. The Federal Circuit's ruling asserts that the goverment cannot engage in viewpoint discrimination. It will be interesting to see the USPTO guidelines that should emerge soon. The ruling was from an appeal by the band The Slants, an Asian American band.