Simon Tam

For the fictional character, see List of Firefly (TV series) characters § Simon Tam.

Simon Tam
Birth nameSimon Shiao Tam
Also known asSimon Young
Born (1981-03-30) March 30, 1981 (age 43)
San Diego, California, U.S.
OccupationsMusician, author, educator, speaker
InstrumentsBass, guitar, keyboards, vocals
LabelsThe Slants, In Music We Trust Records, Pacifiction Records, SBG Records, Boot to Head Records
Websitesimontam.org

Simon Tam (born March 30, 1981) is an American author, musician, activist, and entrepreneur. He is best known as the bassist and founder of the Asian American dance-rock band, the Slants, who won their case against the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office at the United States Supreme Court. The case, Matal v. Tam, was a landmark legal battle that clarified First Amendment rights in trademark law.[1][2] The court ruled unanimously in Tam's favor, holding that trademark registrations may not be rejected under the Disparagement Clause of the Lanham Act (1946) since that would be considered viewpoint discrimination;[3] this includes, as in Tam's case, trademarks using such language filed by members of minority groups who wish to reclaim slurs that would have been previously denied.[4][5][6]

  1. ^ "Matal v. Tam". Becket. Retrieved March 25, 2019.
  2. ^ Flows, Capital. "Government Can Hate A Name, But Still Must Respect It". Forbes. Retrieved March 25, 2019.
  3. ^ "Matal v. Tam (2017)". oregonencyclopedia.org. Retrieved August 6, 2020.
  4. ^ "Supreme Court Finds Lanham Act Disparagement Clause Unconstitutional Under First Amendment". IP Intelligence. June 22, 2017. Retrieved March 25, 2019.
  5. ^ "In Major Free Speech Victory, SCOTUS Rules for 'The Slants' and Strikes Down Federal Trademark Restriction". June 19, 2017.
  6. ^ "Justices add eight new cases to docket for upcoming term, 2015". SCOTUSBlog. Retrieved March 5, 2016.