Clothing Manufacturer Challenging the Government’s Decision to Not Allow Them a Trademark For Being Too Immoral – IOTW Report

Clothing Manufacturer Challenging the Government’s Decision to Not Allow Them a Trademark For Being Too Immoral

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Erik Brunetti’s four-letter fashion brand starts with an “F″ and rhymes with “duct.” The federal government calls it “scandalous” and “immoral” and has refused to register the trademark. Brunetti has a different word for his brand and designs: “thought-provoking.”

“We wanted the viewer to question it: Like, is that pronounced the way I think it’s pronounced?” he said of his streetwear brand “FUCT,” which began selling clothing in 1991.

On Monday, the Supreme Court will hear Brunetti’s challenge to a part of federal law that says officials should refuse to register trademarks that are “scandalous” or “immoral.” Brunetti says it should be struck down as an unconstitutional restriction on speech.

Brunetti would seem to have a strong argument. Two years ago, the justices unanimously invalidated a related provision of federal law that told officials not to register disparaging trademarks. In that case, an Asian-American rock band sued after the government refused to register its band name, “The Slants,” because it was seen as offensive to Asians.

In court, the justices had no trouble saying the band’s name, but Brunetti’s brand may be different. His lawyer, John R. Sommer, says he plans to say the individual letters of the name, “F-U-C-T,” which Brunetti sometimes does too. Another possible workaround: explaining the brand is something of an acronym for “Friends U Can’t Trust.”

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ht/ fdr in hell

18 Comments on Clothing Manufacturer Challenging the Government’s Decision to Not Allow Them a Trademark For Being Too Immoral

  1. I don’t think it is “too immoral”. I think it is in bad taste, and the potential market for the brand name probably isn’t particularly lucrative. I could be wrong, look at the millions that rappers make every year.

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  2. Should we insist on standards of good taste, or even morality?
    Certainly; especially since it would cripple the left.
    Should the government be the sole arbiters as to what standards should be?
    Bless your heart, Bureaucrats! That’s freaking hysterical!
    Poor Avenetti is sure FUCT, though.

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  3. @Uncle Al ?THIS WEB SUCK? April 13, 2019 at 2:01 pm

    > Just for grins, every so often I go to a domain registration site and look to see what’s the most interesting domain name available.

    There are hobbies. And then there’s… you know? weird doesn’t seem big enough to describe… that.

  4. @Anonymous – It’s not as though these little things are a big part of my life, but one should take one’s amusements where one finds them! A few months ago, I found that indivigilante.com was available but, as always, I didn’t take the next step and take ownership.

    As for autocoitus, I like the double meaning. You can take it as either “go fuck yourself” or “go fuck your car”. (-:

  5. Everyday I continute to be stunned at the low level our culture continues to fall. I wonder If Hilllary invented in this company? I hope the hal life of this company is about a nano second.

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