A California lawyer's federal trademark application for the phrase 'Trump Too Small' has been rejected by the US Supreme Court [297a10bf]. The lawyer claimed that the trademark denial violated his constitutional free speech rights [297a10bf]. The trademark application was centered on a provision in a 1946 federal trademark law that prohibits the registration of any trademark using a living individual's name without their written consent [297a10bf]. The US Patent and Trademark Office had initially rejected the application [297a10bf]. The Supreme Court overturned a lower court's decision and ruled that the government's interest in protecting the privacy and publicity rights of public figures outweighed the lawyer's right to criticize them under the First Amendment [297a10bf].
In the world of U.S. trademark practice, several key developments have taken place in the first half of 2024. The Trademark Trial and Appeal Board refused to grant trade dress protection for the colors of Post Fruity Pebbles cereal [33a42ac7]. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit ruled on the use of trademarks in parody [33a42ac7]. Chanel was awarded $4 million in damages for trademark infringement by a federal jury [33a42ac7]. OpenAI was granted a preliminary injunction against a company using a similar trademark [33a42ac7]. Additionally, there is an ongoing trademark battle over the registration of the F-word [33a42ac7]. These developments have significant implications for the protection and enforcement of trademarks in various industries [33a42ac7].