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A US appeals court has struck down a provision of a federal law that barred the registration of offensive trademarks because it violates the First Amendment of the US Constitution.The decision on Tuesday by the US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit in Washington, DC, vacates the refusal by the US Patent and Trademark Office to register the name of the Asian-American rock band, The Slants.It could also affect the decision by the agency to cancel the trademarks of the National Football League's Washington Redskins."We recognise that invalidating this provision may lead to the wider registration of marks that offend vulnerable communities," Circuit Judge Kimberly Moore said in the opinion on behalf of the 12 judges who took part in hearing the case."Whatever our personal feelings about the mark at issue here, or other disparaging marks, the First Amendment forbids government regulators to deny registration because they find the speech likely to offend others."
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Topic: Offensive trademarks are OK in US (Read 263 times)
