Yesterday, the Supreme Court ruled unanimously that the government cannot silence speech which falls outside of its definition of “politically correct.” The case, Matal v. Tam, involved the US Patent and Trademark Office’s refusal to register a rock band’s name because it might offend some people. The “disparagement clause” of a federal trademark law was cited to back up the federal government’s decision not to grant a trademark to the Asian American band called The Slants. The “disparagement clause,” a provision of the 1946 Lanham Act, specifies what type of trademarks may be refused. No trademark by which the goods
