Public Policy Limitations on Trademark Subject Matter: A U.S. Perspective

Abstract

This chapter provides an overview of the public policy limitations on trademark subject matter under U.S. law. This is an area of law that had been fairly stable until recently. The U.S. Supreme Court’s 2017 decision striking down the prohibition on registering disparaging marks and its 2019 decision striking down the prohibition on registering immoral and scandalous marks may prompt a larger reexamination of the policy justifications for denying trademark registration.

Keywords: trademark law, First Amendment law, trademark registration, content regulation, public policy, disparaging marks, immoral and scandalous marks