Vidal v. Elster

Vidal v. Elster
Argued November 1, 2023
Decided June 13, 2024
Full case nameKatherine K. Vidal, Undersecretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property and Director, United States Patent and Trademark Office v. Steve Elster
Docket no.22-704
ArgumentOral argument
Case history
PriorIn re Elster, 26 F.4th 1328 (Fed. Cir. 2022)
Questions presented
Whether the refusal to register a mark under Section 1052(c) violates the Free Speech Clause of the First Amendment when the mark contains criticism of a government official or public figure.
Court membership
Chief Justice
John Roberts
Associate Justices
Clarence Thomas · Samuel Alito
Sonia Sotomayor · Elena Kagan
Neil Gorsuch · Brett Kavanaugh
Amy Coney Barrett · Ketanji Brown Jackson
Case opinions
MajorityThomas (except Part III), joined by Alito, Gorsuch, Roberts, Kavanaugh; Barrett (Parts I, II-A, and II-B)
PluralityThomas (Part III), joined by Alito, Gorsuch
ConcurrenceKavanaugh (in part), joined by Roberts
ConcurrenceBarrett (in part), joined by Kagan; Sotomayor (Parts I, II, and III-B); Jackson (Parts I and II)
ConcurrenceSotomayor (in judgment), joined by Kagan, Jackson

Vidal v. Elster, 602 U.S. 286, is a United States Supreme Court case dealing with 15 U.S.C. § 1052, a provision of the Lanham Act regarding trademarks using the name of living individuals without their consent. The court decided that the provision does not violate the Free Speech Clause of the First Amendment.[1][2]

  1. ^ Liptak, Adam (June 5, 2023). "Supreme Court to Decide 'Trump Too Small' Trademark Dispute". The New York Times. Retrieved June 8, 2023.
  2. ^ Supreme Court rejects attempt to trademark ‘Trump Too Small’