In Re ELSTER

Steve Elster appeals a decision of the Trademark Board affirming an examiner’s refusal to register the trademark “TRUMP TOO SMALL” for use on T-shirts based on section 2(c) of the Lanham Act, 15 U.S.C. § 1052(c), finding that the mark included the surname of a living individual, President Donald J. Trump, without his consent. The CAFC, holds that under any conceivable standard of review, the Board’s application of section 2(c) to bar registration of Elster’s mark unconstitutionally restricts free speech in violation of the First Amendment, and reverses the Board’s decision.