Document ID: ./input/supremecourt_opinions/opinions/16pdf/15-1293_1o13.pdf
Page Number: 19.0

Cite as:  582 U. S. ____ (2017) 

15 

Opinion of the Court 

prodigiously and incoherently.  It is saying many unseemly 
things.  See App. to Brief for Pro-Football, Inc., as Amicus 
Curiae.  It  is  expressing  contradictory  views.9    It  is  una-
shamedly  endorsing  a  vast  array  of  commercial  products
and  services.  And  it  is  providing  Delphic  advice  to  the
consuming public.

For  example,  if  trademarks  represent  government
speech,  what  does  the  Government  have  in  mind  when  it 
advises  Americans  to  “make.believe”  (Sony),10  “Think 
different”  (Apple),11  “Just  do  it”  (Nike),12  or  “Have  it  your 
way”  (Burger  King)13?  Was  the  Government  warning
about  a  coming  disaster  when  it  registered  the  mark 
“EndTime Ministries”14? 

The  PTO  has  made  it  clear  that  registration  does  not
constitute  approval  of  a  mark.  See  In  re  Old  Glory  Con-
dom  Corp.,  26  USPQ 2d  1216,  1220,  n. 3  (TTAB  1993) 
(“[I]ssuance  of  a  trademark  registration  . . .  is  not  a  gov-
ernment imprimatur”).  And it is unlikely that more than 
a  tiny  fraction  of  the  public  has  any  idea  what  federal 
registration  of  a  trademark  means.    See  Application  of 
National Distillers & Chemical Corp., 49 C. C. P. A. (Pat.) 
854,  863,  297  F. 2d  941,  949  (1962)  (Rich,  J.,  concurring) 
(“The  purchasing  public  knows  no  more  about  trademark 
registrations  than  a  man  walking  down  the  street  in  a 

—————— 

9 Compare  “Abolish  Abortion,”  Registration  No.  4,935,774  (Apr.  12,
2016),  with  “I  Stand  With  Planned  Parenthood,”  Registration  No. 
5,073,573 (Nov. 1, 2016); compare “Capitalism Is Not  Moral, Not Fair,
Not Freedom,” Registration No. 4,696,419 (Mar. 3, 2015), with “Capital-
ism  Ensuring  Innovation,”  Registration  No.  3,966,092  (May  24,  2011);
compare  “Global  Warming  Is  Good,”  Registration  No.  4,776,235  (July
21,  2015),  with  “A  Solution  to  Global  Warming,”  Registration  No. 
3,875,271 (Nov. 10, 2010). 

10 “make.believe,” Registration No. 4,342,903 (May 28, 2013). 
11 “Think Different,” Registration No. 2,707,257 (Apr. 15, 2003). 
12 “Just Do It,” Registration No. 1,875,307 (Jan. 25, 1995). 
13 “Have It Your Way,” Registration No. 0,961,016. (June 12, 1973) 
14 “EndTime Ministries,” Registration No. 4,746,225 (June 2, 2015).