A Los Angeles-based streetwear company can now get a trademark on its F-word-adjacent name, after the U.S. Supreme Court on Monday morning struck down a federal law banning “scandalous” or “immoral” registrations.
That’s good news for Erik Brunetti (pictured above), who launched Fuct nearly three decades ago alongside skateboarding icon Natas Kaupas, but has been unable to obtain a trademark for the brand’s name. The trademark office had considered applications to be “scandalous” if they were “shocking to the sense of truth, decency, or propriety” or were “disgraceful, offensive, disreputable.”
But Justice Elena Kagan, in explaining the court’s 6-3 ruling, said the law infringed on the First Amendment because it “disfavors certain ideas.”
Also Read: LL Cool J Sues Festival Founders Over 'Rock the Bells' Use
The law, Kagan said, reached too far: rather than “draw the line at lewd, sexually explicit, or profane remarks,” it...
That’s good news for Erik Brunetti (pictured above), who launched Fuct nearly three decades ago alongside skateboarding icon Natas Kaupas, but has been unable to obtain a trademark for the brand’s name. The trademark office had considered applications to be “scandalous” if they were “shocking to the sense of truth, decency, or propriety” or were “disgraceful, offensive, disreputable.”
But Justice Elena Kagan, in explaining the court’s 6-3 ruling, said the law infringed on the First Amendment because it “disfavors certain ideas.”
Also Read: LL Cool J Sues Festival Founders Over 'Rock the Bells' Use
The law, Kagan said, reached too far: rather than “draw the line at lewd, sexually explicit, or profane remarks,” it...
- 6/24/2019
- by Sean Burch
- The Wrap
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