Iancu v. Brunetti

 
DOCKET NO.
OP. BELOW
SUBJECT
Trademark
AUTHOR
Kagan

Question(s) Presented

“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.”

Holding

“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.”

Date
Proceedings and Orders
July 5, 2018
Application (18A15) granted by The Chief Justice extending the time to file until August 10, 2018.
July 31, 2018
Application (18A15) to extend further the time from August 10, 2018 to September 7, 2018, submitted to The Chief Justice.
August 1, 2018
Application (18A15) granted by The Chief Justice extending the time to file until September 7, 2018.
October 2, 2018
Motion to extend the time to file a response is granted and the time is extended to and including November 8, 2018.
November 28, 2018
DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 1/4/2019.
January 4, 2019
Petition GRANTED.
February 11, 2019
SET FOR ARGUMENT on Monday, April 15, 2019
February 15, 2019
February 19, 2019
Consents for amicus brief of Kurt M. Anderson not accepted for filing. (March 04, 2019 -- Document not of the type that is to be filed electronically)
March 20, 2019
CIRCULATED
March 21, 2019
Record requested from the U.S.C.A. Federal Circuit.
March 27, 2019
Record from the U.S.C.A. Federal Circuit is electronic and located on Pacer.
June 24, 2019
Adjudged to be AFFIRMED. Kagan, J., delivered the opinion of the Court, in which Thomas, Ginsburg, Alito, Gorsuch and Kavanaugh, JJ., joined. Alito, J., filed a concurring opinion. Roberts, C. J., and Breyer, J., filed opinions concurring in part and dissenting in part. Sotomayor, J., filed an opinion concurring in part and dissenting in part, in which Breyer, J., joined.
July 26, 2019
JUDGMENT ISSUED.