The Supreme Court rejected a California attorney’s request on Thursday to mark the word” Trump Too Small” for his sole use on T-shirts.
The judges argued that mark law forbids the use of a living woman’s name, including former US President Donald Trump.
The voting was 9- 0.
Trump was not affiliated with Vidal v. Elster, but in the past he had an issue with corporations and other entities trying to use his name.
Concord, Calif., lawyer Steve Elster said he was amused in 2016 when Republican presidential candidates exchanged opinions about the size of Trump’s fingers during a conversation. Florida Sen. Marco Rubio, whom Trump had mocked as” Little Marco”, asked Trump to keep up his hands, which he did. ” You know what they say about people with little palms”, Rubio said.
After Trump won the election, Elster made the decision to buy T-shirts containing the word” Trump Too Small,” which he claimed was intended to condemn Trump’s inaction on civil rights, the environment, and other problems.
Legally, he was completely to do so, but the U.S. Patent and Copyright Office turned down his ask to register the word as a logo for his personal use only.
When he filed an appeal against the neglect, he won a decision from a federal appeals court, which held that his” Trump To Little” slogan was social commentary protected by the First Amendment.
The Biden government’s Solicitor Gen. Elizabeth Prelogar appealed and urged the Supreme Court to accept the mark demand.
She argued that Elster had the right to make fun of the former president while denying him the right to “assert property rights in another woman’s name.”
” For more than 75 years, Congress has mandated that the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office not to ratify trademark applications that use a special living person’s brand without his express written consent,” she said.
Justice Clarence Thomas wrote for the judge on Thursday, stating,” Elster contends that this ban goes against his first Amendment right to free speech. We believe it does n’t.
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