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Page Number: 10

6 

MATAL v. TAM 

Opinion of the Court 

or bring them into contempt, or disrepute.”  §1052(a).2  This 
clause  appeared  in  the  original  Lanham  Act  and  has  re-
mained the same to this day.  See §2(a), 60 Stat. 428.

When deciding whether a trademark is disparaging, an
examiner  at  the  PTO  generally  applies  a  “two-part  test.”
The  examiner  first  considers  “the  likely  meaning  of  the
matter in question, taking into account not only dictionary 
definitions,  but  also  the  relationship  of  the  matter  to  the 
other  elements  in  the  mark,  the  nature  of  the  goods  or 
services, and the manner in which the mark is used in the 
marketplace  in  connection  with  the  goods  or  services.” 
Trademark Manual of Examining Procedure §1203.03(b)(i) 
(Apr.  2017),  p.  1200–150,  http://tmep.uspto.gov.  “If  that 
meaning  is  found  to  refer  to  identifiable  persons,  institu-
tions, beliefs or national symbols,” the examiner moves to 
the  second  step,  asking  “whether  that  meaning  may  be 
disparaging  to  a  substantial  composite3  of  the  referenced 
group.”  Ibid.  If  the  examiner  finds  that  a  “substantial 
composite,  although  not  necessarily  a  majority,  of  the
referenced  group  would  find  the  proposed  mark  . . .  to  be 
disparaging  in  the  context  of  contemporary  attitudes,”  a
prima  facie  case  of  disparagement  is  made  out,  and  the
burden shifts to the applicant to prove that the trademark
is  not  disparaging.  Ibid.  What  is  more,  the  PTO  has 
specified that “[t]he fact that an applicant may be a mem-
ber of that group or has good intentions underlying its use
of  a  term  does  not  obviate  the  fact  that  a  substantial 
composite  of  the  referenced  group  would  find  the  term
objectionable.”  Ibid. 

D 

Simon  Tam  is  the  lead  singer  of  “The  Slants.”    In  re 
Tam,  808  F. 3d  1321,  1331  (CA  Fed.  2015)  (en  banc),  as 
—————— 

2 The  disparagement  clause  also  prevents  a  trademark  from  being

registered on the supplemental register.  §1091(a). 

3 By “composite,” we assume the PTO means component.