High Court to Take on Vidal's TRUMP TOO SMALL Trademark Petition

Contributing sentiments towards policy:

63% : Director Katherine Vidal that asks, "whether the refusal to register a mark under Section 1052(c) violates the Free Speech Clause of the First Amendment when the mark contains criticism of a government official or public figure."
59% : Specifically, the CAFC panel held that "applying section 2(c) to bar registration of [Steve] Elster's mark unconstitutionally restricts free speech in violation of the First Amendment."
59% : "In each case, this Court concluded that the restriction significantly burdened private speech and violated the First Amendment," Elster's brief explained.
52% : Vidal pointed to Brunetti and Tam as evidence of the Court's interest in addressing such issues, adding: "And this case presents a recurring issue under the First Amendment that this Court's decisions in Tam and Brunetti left open: 'whether a Lanham Act bar' on the registration of a trademark is 'a condition on a government benefit or a simple restriction on speech.'"Ultimately, the petition argues that it is the registration of a mark like Elster's that would chill speech, not the refusal of it.

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