The band The Slants are celebrating after the Supreme Court unanimously upheld the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit's ruling that The Slants have the right to register their trademark.
The victory ends the band's eight-year battle to trademark their name. The Slants' Simon Tam reacted with the following: "After an excruciating legal battle that has spanned nearly eight years, we're beyond humbled and thrilled to have won this case at the Supreme Court.
This journey has always been much bigger than our band: it's been about the rights of all marginalized communities to determine what's best for ourselves. During the fight, we found the Trademark Office justifying the denial of rights to people based on their race, religion, sexual orientation, and political views, simply because they disagreed with the message of these groups.
"To that end, they knowingly used false and misleading information, supported by questionable sources such as UrbanDictionary.com, while placing undue burdens on vulnerable communities and small business owners by forcing them into a lengthy, expensive, and biased appeals process.
"The Supreme Court has vindicated First Amendment rights not only for our The Slants, but all Americans who are fighting against paternal government policies that ultimately lead to viewpoint discrimination." Read more here.
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