Free Speech and Offensive Trademarks

Guest: Peter Midgley, JD, Director of the BYU Copyright Licensing Office A rock band called The Slants won their case at the US Supreme Court this week. Their lawsuit had to do with the fact that their band name is “The Slants,” which is a racial slur for Asian Americans, but the band members themselves are Asian American and say they chose the name as a way of reclaiming the term. Peter Midgley explains what happened when they tried to trademark it.