REFUSAL TO REGISTER SCANDALOUS AND IMMORAL TRADEMARKS RULED AS UNCONSITUTIONAL BY FEDERAL CIRCUIT

Following the Supreme Court’s ruling in In re Tam that a refusal to register disparaging trademarks is an unconstitutional violation of freedom of speech reported on June 19, 2017, the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit held on December 15, 2017 in In re Brunetti that the bar on registration of immoral or scandalous matter as a trademark is similarly unconstitutional. Accordingly, the arguably offensive nature of the trademark FUCT as the phonetic equivalent of the past tense of the F word will not prevent it from registration in relation to clothing goods.