ARE Trademark Law Alert: Supreme Court Confirms Constitutionality of Lanham Act Prohibition on Registration of Trademarks That Comprise the Names Living People Without Their Consent in Vidal v. Elster

On June 13, 2024, in Vidal v. Elster, No. 22-704, the United States Supreme Court unanimously upheld the constitutionality of a provision of the Lanham Act prohibiting the US Patent & Trademark Office (“USPTO”) from registering trademarks that name living people without their consent. Background The case grew out of the USPTO’s refusal to grant […]