2024 United States Supreme Court case
Vidal v. Elster |
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Argued November 1, 2023 Decided June 13, 2024 |
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Full case name | Katherine K. Vidal, Undersecretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property and Director, United States Patent and Trademark Office v. Steve Elster |
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Docket no. | 22-704 |
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Argument | Oral argument |
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Case history |
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Prior | In re Elster, 26 F.4th 1328 (Fed. Cir. 2022) |
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Questions presented |
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Whether the refusal to register a mark under Section 1052(c) violates the Free Speech Clause of the First Amendment when the mark contains criticism of a government official or public figure. |
Court membership |
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- Chief Justice
- John Roberts
- Associate Justices
- Clarence Thomas · Samuel Alito
Sonia Sotomayor · Elena Kagan Neil Gorsuch · Brett Kavanaugh Amy Coney Barrett · Ketanji Brown Jackson |
Case opinions |
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Majority | Thomas (except Part III), joined by Alito, Gorsuch, Roberts, Kavanaugh; Barrett (Parts I, II-A, and II-B) |
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Plurality | Thomas (Part III), joined by Alito, Gorsuch |
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Concurrence | Kavanaugh (in part), joined by Roberts |
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Concurrence | Barrett (in part), joined by Kagan; Sotomayor (Parts I, II, and III-B); Jackson (Parts I and II) |
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Concurrence | Sotomayor (in judgment), joined by Kagan, Jackson |
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Vidal v. Elster, (Docket No. 22-704), is a United States Supreme Court case dealing with 15 U.S.C. § 1052, a provision of the Lanham Act regarding trademarks using the name of living individuals without their consent. The court decided that the provision does not violate the Free Speech Clause of the First Amendment.[1][2]
Background
Enacted in 1946, the Lanham Act, codified at 15 U.S.C. § 1051 et seq., is the primary federal trademark law of the United States. Among other activities, the Act is intended to prohibit trademark infringement. It states:
No trademark by which the goods of the applicant may be distinguished from the goods of others shall be refused registration on the principal register on account of its nature unless it... [c]onsists of or comprises a name, portrait, or signature identifying a particular living individual except by his written consent, or the name, signature, or portrait of a deceased President of the United States during the life of his widow, if any, except by the written consent of the widow. 15 U.S.C. § 1052
Litigation timeline
In 2018, Steve Elster applied for federal registration of the trademark "TRUMP TOO SMALL". Elster stated in his application that he intended to use the mark on shirts that he planned to sell.
An examining attorney at the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) refused registration under 15 U.S.C. §1052(c), stating that the use of the word "TRUMP" in the mark would likely be construed by the public as a reference to Donald Trump and that, without the then-President's written consent, the registration had to be refused.
Elster appealed to the USPTO's Trademark Trial and Appeal Board which, at the request of the examining attorney, remanded the matter back to him for further examination, at which point he identified other provisions of the Lanham Act that would forbid such a mark. The Board agreed with the examining attorney that § 1052(c) bars the registration of the mark as it included the name of the President without his written consent.
On appeal, the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit reversed the judgment of the Appeal Board. They stated that the application of the law to Elster's mark unconstitutionally restricted his speech in violation of the First Amendment. The Court stated the content-based restriction contained within the law would typically trigger either intermediate or strict scrutiny and that, absent an important or compelling state interest in privacy or the public interest, it does not meet the high bar set by these standards of judicial review.
On January 27, 2023, the United States petitioned the Supreme Court to hear the case. The Court granted certiorari on June 5, 2023. On June 13, 2024, the court ruled there is no first amendment issue with those provisions of the Lanham Act, and reversed the Court of Appeals decision[2].
References
- ^ Liptak, Adam (June 5, 2023). "Supreme Court to Decide 'Trump Too Small' Trademark Dispute". The New York Times. Retrieved June 8, 2023.
- ^ a b Supreme Court rejects attempt to trademark ‘Trump Too Small’
External links
- Text of Vidal v. Elster, ___ U.S. ___ (2024) is available from: Justia Oyez (oral argument audio)
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Public displays and ceremonies | |
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Statutory religious exemptions | |
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Public funding | |
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Religion in public schools | |
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Private religious speech | |
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Internal church affairs | |
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Taxpayer standing | |
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Blue laws | |
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Other | |
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Unprotected speech | Incitement and sedition | |
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Libel and false speech | |
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Fighting words and the heckler's veto | |
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True threats | |
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Obscenity | - Rosen v. United States (1896)
- United States v. One Book Called Ulysses (S.D.N.Y. 1933)
- Roth v. United States (1957)
- One, Inc. v. Olesen (1958)
- Smith v. California (1959)
- Marcus v. Search Warrant (1961)
- MANual Enterprises, Inc. v. Day (1962)
- Jacobellis v. Ohio (1964)
- Quantity of Books v. Kansas (1964)
- Ginzburg v. United States (1966)
- Memoirs v. Massachusetts (1966)
- Redrup v. New York (1967)
- Ginsberg v. New York (1968)
- Stanley v. Georgia (1969)
- United States v. Thirty-seven Photographs (1971)
- Kois v. Wisconsin (1972)
- Miller v. California (1973)
- Paris Adult Theatre I v. Slaton (1973)
- United States v. 12 200-ft. Reels of Film (1973)
- Jenkins v. Georgia (1974)
- Southeastern Promotions, Ltd. v. Conrad (1975)
- Erznoznik v. City of Jacksonville (1975)
- Young v. American Mini Theatres, Inc. (1976)
- Vance v. Universal Amusement Co., Inc. (1980)
- American Booksellers Ass'n, Inc. v. Hudnut (7th Cir. 1985)
- People v. Freeman (Cal. 1988)
- United States v. X-Citement Video, Inc. (1994)
- Reno v. ACLU (1997)
- United States v. Playboy Entertainment Group, Inc. (2000)
- City of Los Angeles v. Alameda Books, Inc. (2002)
- Ashcroft v. ACLU I (2002)
- United States v. American Library Ass'n (2003)
- Ashcroft v. ACLU II (2004)
- Nitke v. Gonzales (S.D.N.Y. 2005)
- United States v. Williams (2008)
- American Booksellers Foundation for Free Expression v. Strickland (6th Cir. 2009)
- United States v. Kilbride (9th Cir. 2009)
- United States v. Stevens (2010)
- Brown v. Entertainment Merchants Ass'n (2011)
- FCC v. Fox Television Stations, Inc. (2012)
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Speech integral to criminal conduct | |
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Strict scrutiny | |
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Vagueness | |
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Symbolic speech versus conduct | |
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Content-based restrictions | |
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Content-neutral restrictions | |
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Compelled speech | |
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Compelled subsidy of others' speech | |
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Government grants and subsidies | |
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Government as speaker | |
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Loyalty oaths | |
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School speech | |
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Public employees | |
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Hatch Act and similar laws | |
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Licensing and restriction of speech | |
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Commercial speech | - Valentine v. Chrestensen (1942)
- Rowan v. U.S. Post Office Dept. (1970)
- Pittsburgh Press Co. v. Pittsburgh Comm'n on Human Relations (1973)
- Lehman v. Shaker Heights (1974)
- Goldfarb v. Virginia State Bar (1975)
- Bigelow v. Virginia (1975)
- Virginia State Pharmacy Bd. v. Virginia Citizens Consumer Council (1976)
- Linmark Assoc., Inc. v. Township of Willingboro (1977)
- Carey v. Population Services International (1977)
- Bates v. State Bar of Arizona (1977)
- In re Primus (1978)
- Ohralik v. Ohio State Bar Association (1978)
- Friedman v. Rogers (1979)
- Consol. Edison Co. v. Public Serv. Comm'n (1980)
- Central Hudson Gas & Electric Corp. v. Public Service Commission (1980)
- Metromedia, Inc. v. San Diego (1981)
- In re R.M.J. (1982)
- Hoffman Estates v. The Flipside, Hoffman Estates, Inc. (1982)
- Zauderer v. Off. of Disciplinary Counsel of Supreme Court of Ohio (1985)
- Pacific Gas & Electric Co. v. Public Utilities Comm'n of California (1986)
- Posadas de Puerto Rico Assoc. v. Tourism Co. of Puerto Rico (1986)
- San Francisco Arts & Athletics, Inc. v. U.S. Olympic Committee (1987)
- Shapero v. Kentucky Bar Association (1988)
- Riley v. Nat'l Fed'n of the Blind (1988)
- State University of New York v. Fox (1989)
- Peel v. Attorney Registration and Disciplinary Commission of Illinois (1990)
- City of Cincinnati v. Discovery Network (1993)
- Edenfield v. Fane (1993)
- United States v. Edge Broadcasting Co. (1993)
- Ibanez v. Florida Dept. of Business and Professional Regulation, Bd. of Accountancy (1994)
- Lebron v. National Railroad Passenger Corp. (1995)
- Rubin v. Coors Brewing Co. (1995)
- Florida Bar v. Went For It, Inc. (1995)
- 44 Liquormart, Inc. v. Rhode Island (1996)
- Glickman v. Wileman Brothers & Elliot, Inc. (1997)
- Greater New Orleans Broadcasting Assn., Inc. v. United States (1999)
- Los Angeles Police Department v. United Reporting Publishing Co. (1999)
- United States v. United Foods Inc. (2001)
- Lorillard Tobacco Co. v. Reilly (2001)
- Thompson v. Western States Medical Center (2002)
- Nike, Inc. v. Kasky (2003)
- Johanns v. Livestock Marketing Ass'n (2005)
- Tennessee Secondary School Athletic Assn. v. Brentwood Academy (2007)
- Milavetz, Gallop & Milavetz, P.A. v. United States (2010)
- Jerman v. Carlisle, McNellie, Rini, Kramer & Ulrich LPA (2010)
- Sorrell v. IMS Health Inc. (2011)
- Expressions Hair Design v. Schneiderman (2017)
- Matal v. Tam (2017)
- Iancu v. Brunetti (2019)
- Barr v. American Association of Political Consultants (2020)
- Vidal v. Elster (2024)
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Campaign finance and political speech | |
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Anonymous speech | |
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State action | |
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Official retaliation | |
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Boycotts | |
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Prisons | |
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Organizations | |
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Future Conduct | |
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Solicitation | |
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Membership restriction | |
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Primaries and elections | |
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