Lee v. Tam

Lee v. Tam Oral Argument Transcript

Matthew L.M. Fletcher

Here.

American Indian Organizations Brief in Lee v. Tam

Matthew L.M. Fletcher

Here:

tribal-brief-in-lee-v-tam

fred-t-korematsu-center-for-law-and-equality-brief

U.S. Supreme Court Grants Cert in Lee v. Tam

Kate Fort

Here.

This case addresses the same issue brought up by Pro-Football v. Blackhorse (section 2(a) of the Lanham Act), which is currently in the 4th Circuit. Pro-Football, Inc. petitioned the Court to skip the 4th Circuit and be joined to the Tam v. Lee case if it was granted here. There is no decision on that at this time.

Pro-Football v. Blackhorse coverage here.

Tam v. Lee coverage here.

Story from Law360 here.

Thanks to SD for the heads up.

Pro-Football Inc. v. Blackhorse Cert Petition

Matthew L.M. Fletcher2 Comments

Here.

Question presented:

The “disparagement clause” in § 2(a) of the Lanham Act bars the registration of a trademark that “may disparage … persons, living or dead, institutions, beliefs, or national symbols, or bring them into contempt, or disrepute.” 15 U.S.C. § 1052(a). The questions presented are:

1. Whether § 2(a)’s disparagement clause violates the First Amendment.

2. Whether § 2(a)’s disparagement clause is impermissibly vague, in violation of the First and Fifth Amendments.

3. Whether the government’s decades-long delay between registering a trademark and cancelling the registration under § 2(a)’s disparagement clause violates due process.

The Fourth Circuit matter is still pending. This is an effort to jump ahead of the process to join another petition currently pending captioned Lee v. Tam. We posted about that Federal Circuit decision here.