Tuesday, December 22, 2015

Federal Circuit Allows Disparagement of Asians

The Federal Circuit Court of Appeals ruled this morning that it is illegal for the federal trademark office to refuse to register a trademark that disparages Asians. As pointedly explained by Judge Reyna:
The Majority holds today that Mr. Tam’s speech, which disparages those of Asian descent, is valuable political speech that the government may not regulate except to ban its use in commerce by everyone but Mr. Tam. 
Goodness. So, does this also mean that it is OK for the Washington Redskins to disparage Native Americans via the team's ongoing trademark registration? It certainly appears that way!

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