Free Speech vs. Offensive Trademarks: Implications of the Supreme Court’s Decision to Hear Lee v. Tam

© 2016 The Texas Lawbook.By Amanda Greenspon of Munck Wilson (Oct. 11) – The trademark legal battle being fought by the Asian-American band named “The Slants” has entered a new arena. The U.S. Supreme Court has agreed to hear The Slants case and make a decision that will answer the question: does the government have the right to reject registration of disparaging trademarks? On the sidelines, the Washington Redskins will be closely observing the case. The Slants were denied and the Redskins lost trademark registrations at the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office on the grounds that the marks were considered disparaging of a “substantial composite of the referenced group” – typically a racial minority – by that group’s members at the time of application. Both the Redskins and The Slants appealed the USPTO decision on the grounds that the decision to reject the registration of trademarks on the basis of the content of the mark violates the First Amendment. The Slants won a key ruling in 2015, when a federal appeals court invalidated a provision in the 70-year-old Lanham Act that prohibited the registration of disparaging trademarks citing the First Amendment. The court said the government could not deny trademark…