MATAL v. TAM is a landmark Supreme Court case that affirmed the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit's ruling that the Lanham Act's provision prohibiting the registration of trademarks that may disparage persons, institutions, beliefs, or national symbols violates the First Amendment's free speech clause.
The case involved a band called The Slants, whose founder Simon Tam sought to register the band's name with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. The Office denied the application, finding that the term slants was disparaging to persons of Asian descent. The Supreme Court unanimously ruled that the Lanham Act's disparagement clause was unconstitutional, as it engaged in viewpoint discrimination, which is impermissible under the First Amendment. The Court rejected the government's argument that registered trademarks constitute government speech, and that the disparagement clause was a valid condition of a government subsidy. The decision affirmed the importance of free speech, even for potentially controversial or offensive trademarks, and set a precedent that the government cannot deny trademark registration based on the viewpoint expressed.