‘FUCT’ Trademark Owner Revives Bid For Explicit F-Word Marks

The fashion designer who secured a “FUCT” trademark in a law-altering Supreme Court win convinced a split Federal Circuit that a trademark tribunal didn’t sufficiently articulate its refusal to register a more explicit iteration.

The Trademark Trial and Appeal Board failed to adequately explain how “Fuck” couldn’t identify the source of a product, though it rightly rejected Erik Brunetti’s free speech and retaliation arguments, according to a precedential opinion issued Tuesday by the US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit. Brunetti provided no evidence that his Supreme Court win caused the refusals, and the failure-to-function refusals of his four ...