News 2017: Ho receives mention on SCOTUSblog

Professor Jeremiah Ho’s perspective on U.S. Supreme Court intellectual property-free expression case reaches SCOTUSblog

Originally posted on the Human Rights at Home blog, Professor Jeremiah Ho's view on Lee v. Tam, a case to be decided by the U.S. Supreme Court this term, was mentioned on SCOTUSblog.  Lee v. Tam concerns an Asian-American rock band called "The Slants."  The band challenged denial of service mark registration for its name in the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), which refused the application on grounds of racial offensiveness.  The Federal Circuit sided with "The Slants," and the USPTO appealed.  The Supreme Court heard oral argument in the case on January 18.  Professor Ho was quoted saying that Lee v. Tam "demonstrates how clumsy and obtuse the law sometimes can be at approaching the ironies of life and civility."

[The case] demonstrates how clumsy and obtuse the law sometimes can be at approaching the ironies of life and civility.