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Page Number: 6

2 

VIDAL v. ELSTER 

Opinion of the Court 

Cases, 100 U. S. 82, 92 (1879); see also §1127.  As we have 
explained, “[t]he principle underlying trademark protection
is that distinctive marks—words, names, symbols, and the
like—can help distinguish a particular artisan’s goods from
those of others.”  B&B Hardware, Inc. v. Hargis Industries, 
Inc., 575 U. S. 138, 142 (2015).  So “[o]ne who first uses a
distinct  mark  in  commerce  thus  acquires  rights  to  that 
mark,”  which  “include  preventing  others  from  using  the 
mark.”  Ibid. 

Trademark rights are primarily a matter of state law, but 
an owner can obtain important rights through federal reg-
istration.  The  Lanham  Act  creates  a  federal  trademark-
registration  system  administered  by  the  PTO.    Federal 
“[r]egistration  of  a  mark  is  not  mandatory,”  and  “[t]he
owner of an unregistered mark may still use it in commerce 
and  enforce  it  against  infringers.”    Iancu  v.  Brunetti,  588 
U. S. 388, 391 (2019).  Federal registration, however, “con-
fers important legal rights and benefits.”  B&B Hardware, 
575 U. S., at 142 (internal quotation marks omitted).  For 
example, a registrant may rely on registration in litigation 
as  prima  facie  evidence  of  his  exclusive  right  to  use  the
mark.  §1115(a).  And,  registration  provides  nationwide
constructive notice of the registrant’s claim of ownership of 
the mark.  §1072.

Only marks that meet certain criteria are federally regis-
terable.  Among  other  criteria,  the  Lanham  Act  contains
what we will call the “names clause”—a prohibition on the
registration  of  a  mark  that  “[c]onsists  of  or  comprises  a 
name  . . .  identifying  a  particular  living  individual  except 
by  his  written  consent.”  §1052(c).  The  names  clause  ex-
cludes from registration “not only full names but also sur-
names,  shortened  names,  and  nicknames,  so  long  as  the 
name does in fact identify a particular living individual.”  2 
J. McCarthy, Trademarks and Unfair Competition §13:37,
p. 31 (5th ed. 2024) (McCarthy).

Steve Elster sought to register the trademark “Trump too