Supreme Court Hears Argument Over Trademarking of FUCT (AVN)

Read the full article by Mark Kearns at AVN.com

WASHINGTON, D.C.—On Monday, April 15, the nine justices of the U.S. Supreme Court heard arguments from attorneys for both clothing designer Erik Brunetti and Andrei Iancu, Under Secretary in the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), over Brunetti's attempt to trademark the name of his fashion line, "FUCT."

Since Brunetti had won at the appeals court level, it was the USPTO that brought the issue to the Supreme Court's attention, and its attorney, Malcolm L. Stewart, was the first to address the justices.

"The Lanham Act's ban on federal registration of scandalous trademarks is not a restriction on speech but a valid condition on participation in a federal program," Stewart began. "On its face, and as applied here, the provision is viewpoint-neutral."