“Section 2(a) of the Lanham Act, 15 U.S.C. 1052(a), provides in pertinent part that a trademark shall be refused registration if it ‘[c]onsists of or comprises immoral . . . or scandalous matter.’ The question presented is as follows: Whether Section 1052(a)’s prohibition on the federal registration of ‘immoral’ or ‘scandalous’ marks is facially invalid under the Free Speech Clause of the First Amendment.”
“Two Terms ago, in Matal v. Tam, 582 U. S. ___ (2017), this Court invalidated the Lanham Act’s bar on the registration of ‘disparag[ing]’ trademarks. 15 U.S.C. §1052(a). Although split between two non-majority opinions, all Members of the Court agreed that the provision violated the First Amendment because it discriminated on the basis of viewpoint. Today we consider a First Amendment challenge to a neighboring provision of the Act, prohibiting the registration of ‘immoral[] or scandalous’ trademarks. We hold that this provision infringes the First Amendment for the same reason: It too disfavors certain ideas.”
