MineEvolved
06-19-2017, 02:25 PM
The U.S. Supreme Court ruled on Monday that a law forbidding official registration of offensive trademarks unconstitutionally limits free speech in a case involving a band called The Slants, an outcome the government has said could lead to a proliferation of racial slurs as sanctioned trademarks. (yay!)
The court ruled 8-0 in favor of Portland, Oregon-based Asian-American dance rock band The Slants, which had been denied a trademark because the government deemed the name disparaging to people of Asian descent. The band challenged the rejection as a violation of free speech rights under the U.S. Constitution's First Amendment, winning at the appeals court level before the government appealed to the high court.
The ruling is expected to have a direct impact on another high-profile case involving the National Football League's Washington Redskins. The team filed a legal challenge to a 2014 decision by U.S. Patent and Trademark Office tribunal canceling its trademarks as disparaging to Native Americans.
Now call me silly, but does this mean we now enjoy a measure of protection from sanction when we call niggers 'niggers'? Correct me if I'm wrong, but doesn't this ruling yank the rug out from underneath the concept of 'hate speech'?
Does this mean our site name is also protected?
http://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/us-top-court-says-law-banning-disparaging-trademarks-is-unconstitutional/ar-BBCTj88?li=BBnbfcL
The court ruled 8-0 in favor of Portland, Oregon-based Asian-American dance rock band The Slants, which had been denied a trademark because the government deemed the name disparaging to people of Asian descent. The band challenged the rejection as a violation of free speech rights under the U.S. Constitution's First Amendment, winning at the appeals court level before the government appealed to the high court.
The ruling is expected to have a direct impact on another high-profile case involving the National Football League's Washington Redskins. The team filed a legal challenge to a 2014 decision by U.S. Patent and Trademark Office tribunal canceling its trademarks as disparaging to Native Americans.
Now call me silly, but does this mean we now enjoy a measure of protection from sanction when we call niggers 'niggers'? Correct me if I'm wrong, but doesn't this ruling yank the rug out from underneath the concept of 'hate speech'?
Does this mean our site name is also protected?
http://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/us-top-court-says-law-banning-disparaging-trademarks-is-unconstitutional/ar-BBCTj88?li=BBnbfcL