‘Trump Too Small’ Trademark Refusal Doesn’t Curb Speech, US Says

The US Patent and Trademark Office told the US Supreme Court that refusing a trademark registration for the phrase “Trump Too Small” because Donald Trump didn’t consent to the use of his name doesn’t violate the First Amendment.

The office and the US Solicitor General are defending the PTO’s 2019 decision to refuse the trademark application for Steve Elster, a California labor attorney who began selling T-shirts with the anti-Trump message that is a reference to an exchange about the size of the former president’s hands at a 2016 Republican primary debate.

The Supreme Court in June agreed to hear ...