Michael A. Kahn

Author and Trial Attorney

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Michael A. Kahn

Author and Trial Attorney

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More Thoughts on the Brave New World of X-Rated Trademarks

By Michael KahnPosted on May 9, 20220 Comments1min read51 views

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Yes, you are looking at the one-word trademark whose registration dispute eventually reached the United States Supreme Court. The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office had refused to register the FUCT trademark for apparel. The ground for refusal? Section 2(a) of the Lanham Act, which prohibited the registration of trademarks that were immoral or scandalous. Erik Brunetti, the applicant, refused to give up, and the matter eventually reached the Supreme Court, where the issue was whether that immoral/scandalous prohibition violated the First Amendment.  I eventually wrote a blog post for my law firm on that crazy case, which the Supreme Court resolved in the summer of 2019.

Well, I confess I hadn’t thought about that case or that trademark for more than two years until I found myself at a traffic light, idling behind a Honda Civic displaying an X-rated bumper sticker. And thus the catalyst for another blog post for my law firm, which you can read here.

In this new world of Trigger Warnings, however, I warn you that there are some words–indeed, some trademarks–mentioned in this post that you can’t say on the radio. Enjoy.

The Bumper Sticker
FuctSupreme Courttrademarks
Michael Kahn
Michael Kahn is a trial lawyer by day and a writer by night. He is the award-winning author of 11 Rachel Gold novels and 3 standalone novels, including his most recent one, PLAYED!, and several short stories. His latest Rachel Gold novel, BAD TRUST, is the 11th in that series.
More Thoughts on the Brave New World of X-Rated Trademarks

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Michael A. Kahn

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