Posted on 12/22/2015 9:56:14 AM PST by abb
A US appeals court has struck down a provision of a federal law that barred the registration of offensive trademarks because it violates the First Amendment of the US Constitution.
The decision on Tuesday by the US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit in Washington, DC, vacates the refusal by the US Patent and Trademark Office to register the name of the Asian-American rock band, The Slants.
It could also affect the decision by the agency to cancel the trademarks of the National Football League's Washington Redskins.
"We recognise that invalidating this provision may lead to the wider registration of marks that offend vulnerable communities," Circuit Judge Kimberly Moore said in the opinion on behalf of the 12 judges who took part in hearing the case.
"Whatever our personal feelings about the mark at issue here, or other disparaging marks, the First Amendment forbids government regulators to deny registration because they find the speech likely to offend others."
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(Excerpt) Read more at au.news.yahoo.com ...
THIS IS HUGH!
Everything is offensive to someone. It’s why this stuff about offending people is so lame. It is outside the scope of the government’s function.
Wow, an Asian American band call themselves The Slants?? Really??? Sounds like they don’t give a blank about political correctness.
SERIEZ!!!
LOL, thats hilarious, and I give them tons of credit.
‘Offensive’ if you’re one of the small army of perpetual adolescents who lay claim to onion-skin paper thin hide.
How insulting is that term, "vulnerable communities". That crap is so diminishing I don't know why so many minority groups put up with it.
Dey be schlonged!
Because if you are offended, then you are a victim. And victimhood is held in the highest regard by liberals. That is unless you are a white Christian conservative. Then you are prohibited from being offended.
But what about political correctness, safe spaces, and all of those "rights"?
Ten bucks says the loser appeals to SCOTUS, who will take it and reverse the CAFC. “Trademark” is not a free speech issue, it is a recognition of commercial value. A person can still use the offensive trademark, they just lose whatever value registration has. Trademark can exist independent of registration.
I’ll have to check the temperature in Hell.
Great. I want to see Pekin, Illinois High School go back to being nicknamed the “Chinks”
Someone’s walking around bow-legged today. Does this mean you can really get what you want on a vanity license plate?
Denying trademarks based on content is using government power to discourage certain kinds of speech and encourage others. It provides special political protection to preferred speech.
It's just line drawing. One can't register profanity as a trademark, but one can use profanity.
The benefit to registration is a presumption that the registrant has a valid claim to the mark, and can exclude others from using the mark in commerce. The same argument can work without registration, one only loses the presumption.
Yep I remember hearing about the Pekin Chinks. Back when Beijing was still pronounced Peking, the similarity of names between Pekin and Peking led them to adopt the Chinks nickname.
Speaking of which, when Peking became Beijing, did the Chinese food dish called Peking duck become Beijing duck???
Good.
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