Trump Too Small trademark approval comes up short in Supreme Court ruling
When you trademark something there are tons of Federal rules you often learn only by doing the process, which takes up to a year. The Trump Too Small trademark is a classic case study.
One rule is that you can’t trademark something that identifies a living person without their consent.
An attorney named Steve Elster tried to trademark ‘Trump Too Small’ for use on T-shirts in 2018. His filing with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office said the trademark would:
“…convey that some features of President Trump and his policies are diminutive.”
This was two years after a 2016 debate between Donald Trump and GOP Senator Marco Rubio in which Rubio joked about Trump’s small hands, saying “you know what they say about men with small hands.”
At the time, Trump’s reply was “I guarantee you, there’s no problem.”
In defending Elster’s claim, attorneys for Elster told the Supreme Court:
“The mark criticizes Trump by using a double entendre, invoking a widely publicized exchange from a 2016 Republican primary debate in which Trump commented about his anatomy, while also expressing Elster’s view about ‘the smallness of Donald Trump’s overall approach to governing as president of the United States.’”
Nevertheless, Justice Clarence Thomas wrote this opinion for the unanimous decision:
“Our courts have long recognized that trademarks containing names may be restricted. And these name restrictions served established principles. This history and tradition is sufficient to conclude that the names clause — a content-based, but viewpoint-neutral, trademark restriction — is compatible with the First Amendment.”
Elster’s Trump Too Small trademark filing was born from a dick joke and came up short.
He now joins the ranks of experienced trademark filers who know the process is long and hard.
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Reference:
– Official ‘Trump Too Small’ trademark filing (USPTO)
– Supreme Court upholds rejection of “Trump Too Small” trademark in free speech dispute (CBS)
– Supreme Court rejects ‘Trump Too Small’ trademark (CNN)
– How Trump Too Small trademark became a Supreme Court case (TBP)
– Street art king Banksy schools us on trademark defense (TBP)