We firmly believe that the internet should be available and accessible to anyone, and are committed to providing a website that is accessible to the widest possible audience, Fortunately, there is no registration for the 1-800 version I saw on the rear bumper of that Honda Civic. Dick Sucking Lips® (exfoliating scrubs for cosmetic purposes)įinally, I note that there are currently 47 trademark registrations beginning with 1-800, including 1-800-LIQUORS, 1-800-LASIC-DOC, and 1-800-ALLSTATE.60plus MILFs® (magazine featuring mature nude female models)].The Mom to MILF Makeover® (for medical clinical services).So what are the current stats for x-rated trademark registration applications? Your humble scribe has done the down-and-dirty research and can report as follows: Noteworthy NSFW Trademark Registrations More than two years have elapsed since that warning. She warned of “the coming rush to register such trademarks -and the Government’s immediate powerlessness to say no.” Current Stats for X-Rated Trademark Registration Applications § 1052(a), struck down as unconstitutional viewpoint discrimination, the Government will have no statutory basis to refuse (and thus no choice but to begin) registering marks containing the most vulgar, profane, or obscene words and images imaginable.” With the Lanham Act’s scandalous-marks provision, 15 U.S.C. “The Court’s decision today will beget unfortunate results. However, several justices expressed concern over the consequences of that ruling, as best exemplified by Justice Sotomayor’s separate opinion, which opened: Well, in June of 2019 the Supreme Court did indeed affirm the Court of Appeals ruling, holding that the Lanham Act’s prohibition on registration of “immoral or scandalous” trademarks violates the First Amendment. Or, well, whatever.Īnd thus what was the potential market and profit for someone willing to finance the registration of a trademark for that bumper sticker? Or a doctor or member of the PTA or Boy Scout Leader. In other words, how many people out there would want to drive around with that bumper sticker on the back of their car? Surely no parent waiting in a school carpool line. ( Don’t know what that acronym stands for? That’s why the Gods, i.e., Larry Page and Sergey Brin, invented Google.) Are We Fuct? The Supreme Court to Answer this Trademark QuestionĪ year later, after the Supreme Court announced that it would indeed review the appellate court decision in the FUCT case, I revisited the issue in a post entitled “ Are We Fuct? The Supreme Court to Answer this Trademark Question.” And I noted at the end of that post that the number of pending applications to register trademarks that include the word “fuck” had doubled since my earlier post.īut my ongoing confusion-revisited as I sat idling behind that Hondo Civic with the bumper sticker-was over the commercial potential of obtaining an X-rated trademark registration. I wondered whether the Supreme Court would review that FUCT decision? And in the interim, what would be the impact of that Court of Appeals decision on applications to register X-rated trademarks?Īs I discovered, the FUCT decision had already triggered a race to the Trademark Office with dozens and dozens of new applications to register trademarks containing the word “fuck” or “shit,” along with others somewhat more obscure, such as MILF. I flagged the recent decision by the Federal Court of Appeals reversing that denial of a registration on the grounds that the Section 2(a) restriction violated the First Amendment. The focus of that post was the fate of Section 2(a) of the Lanham Act, which prohibited the registration of trademarks that were immoral or scandalous and which had been cited by the Trademark Office in rejecting an application to register FUCT for apparel. Yes, back in 2018 I wrote the second of what would be several posts on what I described back then as the risk of risqué trademarks. Did I flash back to a blog post of mine from four years ago? How did you guess? Make America Naughty Again: The Risk of Risqué Trademarks It started as an ordinary traffic stop-waiting for the light to turn green, thoughts drifting aimlessly, idling behind a Honda Civic, but then I noticed the bumper sticker on that car:ĭid I laugh? No.
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