No. 15-1293
In the Supreme ourt of the United States
__________
Michelle K. Lee, Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property and Director, United States Patent and Trademark Office,
Petitioner
,
v.
Simon Shiao Tam,
Respondent.
__________
On Writ of Certiorari to the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit __________
BRIEF OF THE CATO INSTITUTE AND A BASKET OF DEPLORABLE PEOPLE AND ORGANIZATIONS AS
AMICI CURIAE
SUPPORTING RESPONDENT
__________
Ilya Shapiro
Counsel of Record
Thomas A. Berry C
ATO
I
NSTITUTE
1000 Mass. Ave., N.W. Washington, DC 20001 (202) 842-0200 ishapiro@cato.org tberry@cato.org December 16, 2016
i
QUESTION PRESENTED
Does the government get to decide what’s a slur?
ii
TABLE OF CONTENTS Page
QUESTION PRESENTED .......................................... i TABLE OF AUTHORITIES ...................................... iv INTEREST OF
AMICUS CURIAE
............................ 1 SUMMARY OF ARGUMENT .................................... 1 ARGUMENT ............................................................... 7 I.
“
DISPARAGING
”
LANGUAGE SERVES AN IMPORTANT ROLE IN OUR SOCIETY ........... 7 A. Reclaiming Slurs Has Played a Big Part in Personal Expression and Cultural Debate ... 7 B. Rock Music Has a Proud Tradition of Pushing the Boundaries of Expression ...... 10 II. THE GOVERNMENT SHOULD NOT BE
DECIDING WHAT’S A SLUR
.......................... 12 A. It Is Impossible to Draw an Objective Line as to What Is Disparaging .......................... 12 B. Brands That Do Not Wish to Offend Can Change Their Names Voluntarily .............. 19 III. THE DISPARAGEMENT CLAUSE VIOLATES THE FIRST AMENDMENT ......... 22 A. The Disparagement Clause Is a Viewpoint-Based Unconstitutional Condition ..................................................... 22 B. A Trademark Is Neither a Subsidy Nor an Endorsement .......................................... 23 1. Choosing which artists and speakers to fund with limited resources is different than trademark registration. ................ 24
Recompense a sua curiosidade
Tudo o que você quer ler.
A qualquer hora. Em qualquer lugar. Em qualquer dispositivo.
Sem compromisso. Cancele quando quiser.