The United States Supreme Court agreed on Monday to address a frivolous issue involving former Republican President Donald Trump but one that could affect the freedom to criticize public officials and a ban on defamation.
The case concerned the slogan “Trump too small”, which translates as “trump too small” and has a strong sexual connotation in English, and the question is: whether this phrase can be used in the trademark registry without the consent of the former US president. Can be registered in
The file to be addressed by the highest US court comes from a lawyer for the state of California, who wanted to register this “brand” to make T-shirts and caps criticizing the Republican tycoon’s performance at the White House in 2018. , In his application, Steve Elster described the formula as a “political commentary”.
The formula was inspired by a famous joke made during a debate between the candidates for the 2016 Republican Party primaries. Republican Senator Marco Rubio, noting that Donald Trump had small hands, said: “You know what we say, little people with hands…”, in a sneaky sexual allusion.
Steve Elster’s application was rejected by the trademark registering agency, arguing that the law requires the consent of living people to register their names. After this, the lawyer resorted to ordinary justice.
A court and then an appeals body agreed with him, in the name of protecting freedom of expression and the right to criticize “public figures”.
The federal government then requested the intervention of the Supreme Court. In a judicial brief, they argued that the refusal to enter the phrase in the trademark registry did not prohibit its use, but rather denied it the protection associated with intellectual property law.
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