Forum
U.S. Supreme Court
Case Status
Decided
Docket Number
Term
2016 Term
Oral Argument Date
January 18, 2017
Lower Court Opinion
Questions Presented
Section 2(a) of the Lanham Act, 15 U.S.C. 1052(a), provides that no trademark shall be refused registration on account of its nature unless, inter alia, it “[c]onsists of … matter which may disparage … persons, living or dead, institutions, beliefs, or national symbols, or bring them into contempt, or disrepute.” The question presented is as follows: Whether the disparagement provision in 15 U.S.C. 1052(a) is facially invalid under the Free Speech Clause of the First Amendment.
Case Updates
Outcome
June 19, 2017
Click here to view the opinion.
U.S. Chamber urges Supreme Court to strike down Lanham Act’s “anti-disparagement” provision limiting free speech in trademarking
December 16, 2016
The U.S. Chamber filed an amicus brief amicus brief urging the Supreme Court to find unconstitutional the Lanham Act’s “anti-disparagement” provision, which allows the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (“PTO”) to refuse to register a trademark if, in the office’s opinion, the mark is disparaging or offensive. The brief argued that the PTO impermissibly engages in viewpoint-based discrimination against speech it deems offensive. In addition, the brief challenged the government’s contention that the provision is a permissible regulation of commercial speech, as commercial speech is a narrow category limited to speech proposing “no more” than a commercial transaction—a definition inapplicable here.
Eugene Scalia, Amir C. Tayrani, and Michael R. Huston of Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP served as co-counsel for the U.S. Chamber of Commerce on behalf of the U.S. Chamber Litigation Center.
Case Documents
- Opinion -- In re Tam (CAFC en banc).pdf
- Cert. Petition -- Lee v. Tam (SCOTUS).pdf
- Brief for Respondent -- Lee v. Tam (SCOTUS).pdf
- Pro-Football, Inc. Amicus Brief (cert.) -- Lee v. Tam (SCOTUS).pdf
- Reply Brief (cert.) -- Lee v. Tam (SCOTUS).pdf
- Brief of Petitioner -- Lee v. Tam (SCOTUS).pdf
- Amanda Blackhorse, et al. Amicus Brief -- Lee v. Tam (SCOTUS).pdf
- American Bar Association Amicus Brief -- Lee v. Tam (SCOTUS).pdf
- Native American Organizations Amicus Brief -- Lee v. Tam (SCOTUS).pdf
- Law Professors Amicus Brief -- Lee v. Tam (SCOTUS).pdf
- Asian Americans Advancing Justice, et al. Amicus Brief -- Lee v. Tam (SCOTUS).pdf
- Fred T. Korematsu Center for Law and Equality, et al. Amicus Brief -- Lee v. Tam (SCOTUS).pdf
- American Intellectual Property Law Association Amicus Brief -- Lee v. Tam (SCOTUS).pdf
- Public Citizen Amicus Brief -- Lee v. Tam (SCOTUS).pdf
- Certain Members of Congress Amicus Brief -- Lee v. Tam (SCOTUS).pdf
- Public Knowledge Amicus Brief -- Lee v. Tam (SCOTUS).pdf
- New York Intellectual Property Law Association Amicus Brief -- Lee v. Tam (SCOTUS).pdf
- Brief for Respondent -- Lee v. Tam (SCOTUS)_0.pdf
- American Center for Law and Justice Amicus Brief -- Lee v. Tam (SCOTUS).pdf
- Pacific Legal Foundation Amicus Brief -- Lee v. Tam (SCOTUS).pdf
- Constitutional Law Professors Amicus Brief -- Lee v. Tam (SCOTUS).pdf
- Professors Edward Lee and Jake Linford Amicus Brief -- Lee v. Tam (SCOTUS).pdf
- Alliance Defending Freedom Amicus Brief -- Lee v. Tam (SCOTUS).pdf
- U.S. Chamber Amicus Brief -- Lee v. Tam (SCOTUS).pdf
- Pro-Football, Inc. Amicus Brief -- Lee v. Tam (SCOTUS).pdf
- Justice and Freedom Fund Amicus Brief -- Lee v. Tam (SCOTUS).pdf
- San Francisco Dykes on Bikes Women's Motorcycle Contingent, Inc. Amicus Brief -- Lee v. Tam (SCOTUS).pdf
- Thomas Jefferson Center for the Protection of Free Expression and EFF Amicus Brief -- Lee v. Tam (SCOTUS).pdf
- American Jewish Committee Amicus Brief -- Lee v. Tam (SCOTUS).pdf
- Rutherford Institute and Consumers' Research Amicus Brief -- Lee v. Tam (SCOTUS).pdf
- ACLU, et al. Amicus Brief -- Lee v. Tam (SCOTUS).pdf
- International Trademark Association Amicus Brief -- Lee v. Tam (SCOTUS).pdf
- Cato Institute and a Basket of Deplorable People and Organizations Amicus Brief -- Lee v. Tam (SCOTUS).pdf
- Becket Fund for Religious Liberty Amicus Brief -- Lee v. Tam (SCOTUS).pdf
- Professor Hugh C. Hansen Amicus Brief -- Lee v. Tam (SCOTUS).pdf
- Law Professor Gregory Dolin, et al. Amicus Brief -- Lee v. Tam (SCOTUS).pdf
- Erik Brunetti Amicus Brief -- Lee v. Tam (SCOTUS)_0.pdf
- Reply Brief for the Petitioner -- Lee v. Tam (SCOTUS).pdf
- Transcript of Oral Argument -- Lee v. Tam (SCOTUS).pdf
- Opinion -- Matal (Lee) v. Tam (SCOTUS).pdf