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Offensive Trademarks Must Be Allowed, Rules Supreme Court (arstechnica.com)
In a ruling that could have broad impact on how the First Amendment is applied in other trademark cases in future, the U.S. Supreme Court on Monday threw out a federal prohibition on disparaging trademarks as a constitutional violation in a ruling involving a band called The Slants. From a report: The opinion in Matal v. Tam means that Simon Tam, lead singer of an Asian-American rock band called "The Slants," will be able to trademark the name of his band. It's also relevant for a high-profile case involving the Washington Redskins, who were involved in litigation and at risk of being stripped of their trademark. The court unanimously held that a law on the books holding that a trademark can't "disparage... or bring... into contemp[t] or disrepute" any "persons, living or dead," violates the First Amendment. Tam headed to federal court years ago after he was unable to obtain a trademark. In 2015, the US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit ruled in Tam's favor, finding that the so-called "disparagement clause" of trademark law was unconstitutional.
I think you are correct. If there is a political agenda, the judges normally vote along party line. If there are no politics involved, the courts will default towards the letter of the law.
People have been redefining acceptable free speech for so many political views, they don't think about the legal impacts. As if only politically correct acceptable speech should be allowed, that's not how free speech works.
There is ONLY speech....how you perceive it is completely your opinion.
Light travels faster than sound. This is why some people appear bright until you hear them speak.........
"Hate Speech" doesn't exist.
It's all Free Speech.
Wrong way of looking at it.
"Hate speech" is the important subset of free speech. You don't need a constitution to protect inoffensive speech.
Socialism: a lie told by totalitarians and believed by fools.
There is ONLY speech....how you perceive it is completely your opinion.
This. And I've spent countless hours trying to bang it into peoples' heads.
You can disagree or dislike what someone says, but they can say the same about you. One can (easily IMHO) argue that all the 'if you support trump you're an idiot/bigot/rapist/etc.' is hate speech. It's directly targeting and disparaging a group of people who share a different personal view of something. No one gets to decide what kind of speech is good vs. bad and still have freedom of speech. It can't exist that way.
Yes, there are some obvious call-outs to like that such as screaming 'fire' when there isn't one...but frankly you could still consider that free speech then charge the person with reckless endangerment or something.
I hate black people and think they should all be euthanized. Hate speech? Substitute 'black people' for cattle ranchers and now you're PETA promoting animal welfare. Substitute for pit bulls and you're politicians promoting safety for children. The examples are endless. I might think you're scum for some of your opinions but I'll still support your right to share them. Oh, and no, I don't support the 'righteous' morons who think violence is an acceptable response to speech they disagree with.
You can get rich if you own a politician, but you have to be rich to buy one in the first place.
Yep.
I can say "cracker"...
I can say "honkey"...
I can say "spic"...
I can say "wop"....
I can say "chink"...
I can say "gook"...
And none of these seem to get censored by slashdot.
Why the special treatment of ni--gger?
Light travels faster than sound. This is why some people appear bright until you hear them speak.........
I actually understand that quite well.
But unless there is an implicit thought to protect all speech in society to go along with the govt restraints against it....you end up losing the battle.
Places that are actually discussion groups should strive to embrace the "First Amendment " philosophy too, especially when they are American owned and centric groups.
Light travels faster than sound. This is why some people appear bright until you hear them speak.........