Supreme Court considers case involving offensive language which could have ramifications for Redskins franchise

Record ID: 165459

  • Title: Supreme Court considers case involving offensive language which could have ramifications for Redskins franchise
  • Date: 18th January 2017
  • Summary: WASHINGTON, D.C., UNITED STATES (FILE) (REUTERS) WORDS EXTERIOR OF THE U.S. SUPREME COURT WITH THE WORDS "Equal Justice Under Law" ETCHED IN STONE BIRD ON STATUE OUTSIDE OF SUPREME COURT WIDE OF U.S. SUPREME COURT WITH PEOPLE WAITING IN LINE TO ENTER PAN UP FROM COLUMNS TO THE WORDS " "Equal Justice Under Law" ETCHED IN STONE OF THE UNITED STATES SUPREME COURT BUILDING PAN FROM SUPREME COURT JUSTICE ANTHONY KENNEDY TO JUSTICE RUTH BADER GINSBURG TILT UP TO JUSTICE ELENA KAGEN PAN FROM KAGEN TO JUSTICE SAMUEL ALITO, JUSTICE STEPHEN BREYER TO JUSTICE SONIA SOTOMAYOR JUSTICE CLARENCE THOMAS, JUSTICE ANTONIN SCALIA AND CHIEF JUSTICE JOHN ROBERTS WIDE OF JUSTICES
  • Embargoed: 1st February 2017 23:17
  • Keywords: "The Slants " Supreme Court Redskins trademark law
  • Location: UNIDENTIFIED FILM LOCATIONS; WASHINGTON, D.C., AND LANDOVER, MARYLAND AND ASHBURN, VIRGINIA, UNITED STATES
  • City: UNIDENTIFIED FILM LOCATIONS; WASHINGTON, D.C., AND LANDOVER, MARYLAND AND ASHBURN, VIRGINIA, UNITED STATES
  • Country: USA
  • Topics: Crime/Law/Justice,Judicial Process/Court Cases/Court Decisions
  • Reuters ID: LVA0025ZLZQ6F
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Story Text:Supreme Court justices walked a tightrope on Wednesday (January 18) over government approval of offensive trademarks, expressing concern about endorsing racial slurs in brands and slogans while also worrying about protecting only positive words.
    The eight justices heard arguments in a case involving a Portland, Oregon-based Asian-American dance-rock band called The Slants that was denied a trademark on their name because the government deemed it offensive to people of Asian descent. The band challenged the rejection as violating free speech rights.
    The case, one of the most closely watched of the court's current term, could impact another high-profile dispute over the government's cancellation of the trademarks of the Washington Redskins of the National Football League for disparaging Native Americans.
    The band's attorney, John Connell, told the justices the government cannot use trademark law to impose burdens on free speech to protect listeners from offense.
    The Obama administration appealed after a lower court agreed with the band that part of the 1946 law governing federal trademarks that barred those that may disparage certain people ran afoul of the U.S. Constitution's guarantee of free speech.
    Justice Sonia Sotomayor said no one is stopping the band from calling and advertising themselves as The Slants.
    The band's legal dispute began when the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office refused to grant trademark protection for The Slants' name in 2013. Some consider it a racial slur referring to Asian people's eyes.
    The court's ruling could set parameters for trademark registration, which can help protect product and company names and commercial slogans in court and block the import and sale of counterfeit goods.
    Justice Anthony Kennedy asked the band's attorney, John Connell, whether a group of non-Asians using the name The Slants to mock Asians could be denied a trademark. Connell said they could not.
    Kennedy questioned whether the trademark system should be considered like a public park "where you can say anything you want."
    The justices seemed to agree with the band that the government was favoring some trademarks while disapproving others, a kind of discrimination based on viewpoint traditionally forbidden by the First Amendment.
    A decision in is expected by the end of June.
    In the separate Redskins' case, a trademark board in 2014 canceled the team's six trademarks at the request of Native American activists on grounds that the team name disparaged Native Americans. The team's appeal, also on free speech grounds, is on hold in the 4th Circuit Court of Appeals in Richmond, Virginia, pending the outcome of The Slants' case.
    The case is in the Supreme Court of the United States is Michelle K. Lee v. Simon Shiao Tam, No. 15-1293.
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    U.S. Supreme Court considers case involving offensive language which could have ramifications for Redskins franchise.
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