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6 Fed. Cir. B.J. 191 (1996)
Redskins and Scarlet Letters: Why "Immoral" and "Scandalous" Trademarks Should Be Federally Registrable

handle is hein.journals/fedcb6 and id is 197 raw text is: Redskins and Scarlet Letters: Why Immoral and Scandalous Trademarks Should Be Federally Registrable Jendi B. Reiter* I. Introduction Federal registration of a trademark under the Lanham Act' confers several important benefits on the trademark owner, such as nationwide protection,2 enhanced remedies against counterfeiters,3 and an evidentiary presumption of trademark validity during litigation.4 Certain marks, because of their nature, are denied access to these benefits. For instance, Section 2(a) of the Lanham Act forbids registration of, inter alia, a mark which consists of or comprises immoral . . . or scandalous matter or matter which may disparage . . . persons, living or dead, institutions, beliefs, or national symbols, or bring them into contempt or disrepute.' The immoral or scandalous nature of a mark is also grounds for cancellation of a registered mark even after it has become incontestable.' A leading case on Section 2(a), In reMcGinley,7 held that the threshold for objectionable matter is lower for what can be described as 'scandalous' *Jendi B. Reiter received the second place award in the 1996 George Hutchinson Writing Contest sponsored by the Federal Circuit Bar Association. Ms. Reiter was aJ.D. candidate at Columbia Law School at the time she wrote the article. '15 U.S.C. § 1051 etseq. (1988). 2 15 U.S.C. § 1057(c) (1988). 3 15 U.S.C. § 1124 (1988). 4 15 U.S.C. § 1057(b) (1988). 5 15 U.S.C. § 1052(a) (1988). This section also contains the ban on registration of deceptive and fraudulent marks, with which this Artide is not concerned. References to Section 2(a) refer to the quoted portion in the text accompanying this footnote. 615 U.S.C. § 1064(3) (1988). 7 660 F.2d 481 (C.C.P.A. 1981).

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