[{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org\/","@type":"BlogPosting","@id":"https:\/\/www.grossmcginley.com\/resources\/blog\/scotus-cites-free-speech-ordering-patent-office-to-allow-disparaging-trademarks\/#BlogPosting","mainEntityOfPage":"https:\/\/www.grossmcginley.com\/resources\/blog\/scotus-cites-free-speech-ordering-patent-office-to-allow-disparaging-trademarks\/","headline":"SCOTUS Cites Free Speech, Ordering Patent Office to Allow “Disparaging” Trademarks","name":"SCOTUS Cites Free Speech, Ordering Patent Office to Allow “Disparaging” Trademarks","description":"Those businesses with #NotSafeForWork trademarks may be headed to the Trademark Office after this summer\u2019s ruling by […]","datePublished":"2017-09-14","dateModified":"2021-08-09","author":{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.grossmcginley.com\/resources\/author\/nicole-ohara\/#Person","name":"Nicole J. O'Hara","url":"https:\/\/www.grossmcginley.com\/resources\/author\/nicole-ohara\/","identifier":33,"image":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/498b1af4514c290b6b522e5a13cc8053?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/498b1af4514c290b6b522e5a13cc8053?s=96&d=mm&r=g","height":96,"width":96}},"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Gross McGinley, LLP","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/www.grossmcginley.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/logopng-00436945-e1531508982151.png","url":"https:\/\/www.grossmcginley.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/logopng-00436945-e1531508982151.png","width":600,"height":60}},"image":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/www.grossmcginley.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/02\/supreme-court-1.jpg","url":"https:\/\/www.grossmcginley.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/02\/supreme-court-1.jpg","height":800,"width":800},"url":"https:\/\/www.grossmcginley.com\/resources\/blog\/scotus-cites-free-speech-ordering-patent-office-to-allow-disparaging-trademarks\/","about":["Blog"],"wordCount":194,"keywords":["Business Law","Intellectual Property"],"articleBody":"Those businesses with #NotSafeForWork trademarks may be headed to the Trademark Office after this summer\u2019s ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court in Matal v. Tam (No. 15\u20131293. Argued January 18, 2017\u2014Decided June 19, 2017).\u00a0 Also known as \u201cThe Slants\u201d case, it involved a group of Asian-American musicians from Portland who tried to register their band name as a trademark and were denied by the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office (USPTO) based on a statutory prohibition of \u201cdisparaging\u201d trademarks.\u00a0 In a highly deliberated and hotly debated ruling, SCOTUS ordered the USPTO to allow registration of \u201cThe Slants,\u201d determining more broadly that a prohibition of disparaging marks violates the free speech protections of the First Amendment of the Constitution.\u00a0 Many people cheered the ruling for its progressive approach to civil liberties and open dialogue, while others jeered the implications for controversial trademark-holders such as the NFL\u2019s Washington Redskins. Either way, at a volatile time like this, we look to our leaders for moral guidance\u2026and root for the Philadelphia Eagles.Attorney Nicole J. O’Hara is a member of Gross McGinley’s Business Services Group, providing counsel to businesses in general matters and intellectual property concerns."},{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org\/","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Resources","item":"https:\/\/www.grossmcginley.com\/resources\/#breadcrumbitem"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Blog","item":"https:\/\/www.grossmcginley.com\/resources\/\/blog\/#breadcrumbitem"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"SCOTUS Cites Free Speech, Ordering Patent Office to Allow “Disparaging” Trademarks","item":"https:\/\/www.grossmcginley.com\/resources\/blog\/scotus-cites-free-speech-ordering-patent-office-to-allow-disparaging-trademarks\/#breadcrumbitem"}]}]