Opinion analysis: Justices hold ban on “disparaging” trademarks violates Constitution

So in a unanimous 8-justice decision in Matal v. Tam, the US Supreme Court says that the US Patent Office may not constitutionally refuse to register “derogatory” or “disparaging” trademarks (here, the name of Portland-based dance-rock band The Slants)

They reasoned that the clause allows an applicant to register a “positive or benign” trademark, but “not a derogatory one.” Because it “reflects the Government’s disapproval of a subset of messages it finds offensive,” it “is the essence of viewpoint discrimination.”

The obvious immediate effect will be to end assaults on the trademarks of the Washington Redskins; further on tho the precedent might stop the DMV from refusing custom license plate “DRGN BLS”