吃瓜大本营

Section 2(a) of the Lanham Act (the 鈥渄isparagement clause鈥�) bars the Patent and Trademark Office from granting registration to any trademark deemed scandalous, immoral, or disparaging to any person, institution, belief, or national symbol. Punk rocker Simon Tam is the founder of the all-Asian American band 鈥淭he Slants,鈥� and sought to register the band鈥檚 name. The registration was denied because the PTO鈥檚 trademark examiner found the band鈥檚 name disparaging to Asian Americans鈥攁fter the trademark examiner determined the band鈥檚 ethnicity.

In an amicus brief filed with a coalition of Asian American advocacy groups, the ACLU, ACLU of Oregon, and ACLU of the National Capital Area argued that the disparagement clause violates the First Amendment鈥檚 prohibition on government regulation of speech based on viewpoint. On June 19, 2017, the Supreme Court struck down portions of the Lanham Act, holding that The Slants鈥� First Amendment rights were violated when the government claimed the right to control their speech in exchange for offering a trademark.