Document ID: ./input/supremecourt_opinions/opinions/16pdf/15-1293_1o13.pdf
Page Number: 30

26 

MATAL v. TAM 

Opinion of the Court 
Opinion of ALITO, J. 

clause protects every person living or dead as well as every 
Is  it  conceivable  that  commerce  would  be 
institution. 
disrupted by a trademark saying: “James Buchanan was a
disastrous president” or “Slavery is an evil institution”? 

There is also a deeper problem with the argument that
commercial  speech  may  be  cleansed  of  any  expression
likely  to  cause  offense.    The  commercial  market  is  well 
stocked  with  merchandise  that  disparages  prominent 
figures and groups, and the line between commercial and 
non-commercial  speech  is  not  always  clear,  as  this  case 
illustrates.  If  affixing  the  commercial  label  permits  the 
suppression  of  any  speech  that  may  lead  to  political  or
social “volatility,” free speech would be endangered. 

* 

* 
For  these  reasons,  we  hold  that  the  disparagement
clause  violates  the  Free  Speech  Clause  of  the  First 
Amendment.  The  judgment  of  the  Federal  Circuit  is 
affirmed. 

* 

It is so ordered.
 JUSTICE  GORSUCH  took  no  part  in  the  consideration  or 

decision of this case.