Matal v. Tam

Background

Simon Tam, the lead singer of a band called "The Slants," applied for federal registration of the band name. The Patent and Trademark Office refused under a Lanham Act provision that bars marks that "may disparage" people, institutions, or beliefs, applying a two-step test and finding the name offensive to a substantial segment of the referenced group. Tam challenged that denial through the agency and the courts, and the Federal Circuit held the statute unconstitutional before the case reached this Court.

Reasoning

The Court focused on whether the disparagement clause violates the First Amendment. It rejected the Government’s arguments that registered trademarks are government speech, a government subsidy, or subject to a special government-program rule. The Court explained the clause is viewpoint-based because it permits favorable or neutral messages but forbids disparaging ones. That viewpoint discrimination cannot stand: the clause fails heightened review and even the more lenient commercial-speech test because it is not narrowly drawn to serve the asserted interests. The Court therefore held the provision unconstitutional and affirmed the Federal Circuit’s judgment.

Real world impact

The ruling stops the PTO from denying federal registration solely because a mark may offend or disparage a group. Federal registration still confers practical benefits—notice of ownership, evidentiary advantages, potential incontestability, and import protections—so more applicants can now seek those protections even for controversial or reclaimed names. The decision is a binding bar to using that statutory clause to block registration.

Dissents or concurrances

Several Justices wrote separately. One concurrence stressed viewpoint-discrimination principles as dispositive; another Justice joined the judgment but not all reasoning. One Justice did not participate.