‘Trump Too Small’ Trademark Rehearing Bid Denied by Fed. Cir.

The full Federal Circuit won’t rehear the US Patent and Trademark Office’s argument to restore a bright-line ban on unauthorized references to individuals in trademark registrations after a panel ruled the law can’t block a “Trump Too Small” mark.

Attorney Steve Elster convinced a US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit panel in February that his First Amendment rights were violated when the PTO’s Trademark Trial and Appeal Board rejected his Trump-referencing trademark application. The PTO argued that the statutory prohibition is viewpoint-neutral and helps the government protect widely recognized rights of publicity and privacy as it asked the ...