Supreme Court says law banning registration of 'scandalous' trademarks violates First Amendment

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The Supreme Court struck down Monday a provision of federal law that prohibits the registration of "immoral" or "scandalous" trademarks as a violation of the First Amendment. The justices' ruling clears the way for a clothing designer to apply for a federal trademark for his clothing line called FUCT. [...]

In 2011, [Erik] Brunetti sought to register the mark with the United States Patent and Trademark Office in order to obtain benefits such as expanding rights against others attempting to use the same mark. The office refused Brunetti's request because it said FUCT was the "phonetic equivalent" of the past tense of a vulgar word, and determined that federal law prohibits the registration of trademarks that consist of "scandalous" subject matter.

source: Article 'Supreme Court says law banning registration of 'scandalous' trademarks violates First Amendment' by Ariane de Vogue & Kate Sullivan; edition.cnn.com/2019/06/24/politics/supreme-court-fuct-first-amendment/index.html; CNNPolitics; 24 June 2019