IN RE TAM

No. 2014-1203.

808 F.3d 1321 (2015)

In re Simon Shiao TAM.

United States Court of Appeals, Federal Circuit.

December 22, 2015.


Attorney(s) appearing for the Case

Ronald D. Coleman , Archer & Greiner, P.C., Hackensack, NJ, argued for appellant. Also represented by Joel Geoffrey MacMull ; John C. Connell , Haddonfield, NJ; Darth M. Newman , Martin Law Firm LLC, Pittsburgh, PA.

Daniel Tenny , Appellate Staff, Civil Division, United States Department of Justice, Washington, DC, argued for appellee Michelle K. Lee. Also represented by Benjamin C. Mizer , Mark R. Freeman , Joshua Marc Salzman ; Nathan K. Kelley , Thomas W. Krause , Molly R. Silfen , Christina Hieber , Thomas L. Casagrande , Office of the Solicitor, United States Patent and Trademark Office, Alexandria, VA.

Lee Rowland , Speech, Privacy & Technology, American Civil Liberties Union Foundation, New York, NY, argued for amici curiae American Civil Liberties Union, American Civil Liberties Union of Oregon, American Civil Liberties Union of the National Capital Area. Also represented by Esha Bhandari , Brett Max Kaufman ; Arthur B. Spitzer , American Civil Liberties Union of the National Capital Area, Washington, DC; Mathew W. Dos Santos , ACLU of Oregon, Portland, OR.

Jeffrey Joseph Lopez , Drinker Biddle & Reath LLP, Washington, DC, for amici curiae Amanda Blackhorse , Marcus Briggs-Cloud , Phillip Gover , Jillian Pappan , Courtney Tsotigh. Also represented by Jesse A. Witten .

Megan Leef Brown , Wiley Rein, LLP, Washington, DC, for amici curiae Cato Institute, The Rutherford Institute. Also represented by Christopher J. Kelly , Joshua S. Turner , Jennifer L. Elgin , Dwayne D. Sam ; Cato Institute also represented by Ilya Shapiro , Cato Institute, Washington DC; The Rutherford Institute also represented by Douglas R. McKusick , John W. Whitehead , Charlottesville, VA.

Marc J. Randazza , Randazza Legal Group, Las Vegas, NV, for amicus curiae First Amendment Lawyers Association. Also represented by Ronald D. Green, Jr.

Charanjit Brahma , Troutman Sanders LLP, San Francisco, CA, for amici curiae Fred T. Korematsu Center for Law and Equality, National Asian Pacific American Bar Association, South Asian Bar Association of Washington, DC. National Asian Pacific American Bar Association also represented by GEORGE C. CHEN , Bryan Cave LLP, Phoenix, AZ.

Hugh C. Hansen , Fordham University School of Law, New York, NY, as amicus curiae pro se.

Lawrence Kurt Nodine , Ballard Spahr LLP, Atlanta GA, for amicus curiae International Trademark Association. Also represented by Robert D. Carroll , Goodwin Procter LLP, Boston, MA.

Robert Lloyd Raskopf , Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan, LLP, New York, NY, for amicus curiae Pro-Football, Inc. Also represented by Sanford Ian Weisburst , Todd Anten .

Phillip R. Malone , Juelsgaard Intellectual Property and Innovation Clinic, Mills Legal Clinic, Stanford Law School, Stanford, CA, for amicus curiae Public Knowledge. Also represented by Jeffrey Theodore Pearlman .

Richard L. Stanley , Law Office of Richard L. Stanley, Houston TX, for amicus curiae Richard L. Stanley.

Dissenting opinion filed by Circuit Judge REYNA.


Section 2(a) of the Lanham Act bars the Patent and Trademark Office ("PTO") from registering scandalous, immoral, or disparaging marks. 15 U.S.C. § 1052(a). The government enacted this law—and defends it today—because it disapproves of the messages conveyed by disparaging marks. It is a bedrock principle...

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