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Limit in Supreme Court Striking Down Ban On 'Scandalous' Trademarks
In the U.S. Supreme Court's ruling in Iancu v. Brunetti, 139 S. Ct. 2294 (2017), Justice Sonia Sotomayor's dissent cautioned that the decision is likely to pave a path to a "coming rush to register [vulgar, profane, or obscene] trademarks." The reasoning stems from the court's majority finding that a portion of 15 U.S.C. §1052 — which had previously prohibited the registering of "immoral" or "scandalous" trademarks — is unconstitutional.
Practically speaking, however, this "coming rush" will likely not be the case, even via the entertainment industry.
In Brunetti, the Supreme Court ruled that the Lanham Act's prohibitions against the registering of "immoral" or "scandalous" trademarks violate the First Amendment. Writing for the majority, Justice Elena Kagan explained that the statutory immoral or scandalous bar discriminates on the basis of viewpoint, and thus it offends First Amendment doctrine.
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