The Lanham Act provides legal protections to trademark holders and, since 1946, it has prohibited the registration of any trademark containing the name, portrait or signature of a living person, except with their written consent.

The U.S. Supreme Court will consider whether this prohibition presents a conflict with the Free Speech Clause of the First Amendment. In particular, the court is positioned, in granting certiorari in Vidal v. Elster (Dkt. No. 22-704), to determine whether this provision of the Lanham Act violates the First Amendment by barring registration of a trademark that contains criticism of a government official or public figure.

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