Game changer – Federal Circuit rejects ban on disparaging trademarks

Description

Abstract: This article talks about a case involving the so-called disparagement provision of the Lanham Act, which concerns federal trademark law. The Federal Circuit rejected the government’s argument that the provision didn’t implicate the First Amendment. Among other things, the court found that trademark registration conveys rights unavailable without registration and that the government’s processing of trademark registrations doesn’t transform private speech into government speech. A sidebar discusses the “intermediate scrutiny” standard also applied by the court. In re Tam, No. 14-1203, Dec. 28, 2015 (Fed. Cir.)