Trademark Red Tape: Disparaging Marks And TTAB Tidbits

Welcome to Trademark Red Tape, our periodic round-up of trademark news and happenings at the United States Patent & Trademark Office. Here are the highlights:

• A Time-Out for Offensive Trademarks. According to IP Watchdog, Mary Denison, the Commissioner for Trademarks, has issued an "informal" directive to trademark examiners that they should suspend trademark applications that would potentially violate Section 2(a) of the Lanham Act, on the basis that the applied-for marks are immoral, deceptive, scandalous or disparaging. The directive anticipates a review of In re Tam and its companion cases — discussed here on the Trademark & Copyright Law Blog — by the U.S. Supreme Court. While it seems likely that the Supremes will take up In re Tam, the timing of the directive is curious given that we've yet to receive word that the U.S. government has filed a petition for writ of certiorari in the matter. The inclusion of "deceptive" marks is also interesting, as the