Before the Court in Lee v. Tam
The Justices Weigh in on Offensive Trademarks
At 10:07 a.m. on January 18, 2017, the U.S. Supreme Court heard oral arguments for case number 15–1293, Michelle K. Lee v. Simon Shiao Tam. At 11:03 a.m., arguments concluded and the case was submitted for judgment. Following are excerpts from the arguments of Malcolm L. Stewart, deputy U.S. solicitor general, and John C. Connell, counsel of record for Simon Shiao Tam. Questions are presented from the eight Supreme Court justices. Argument on Behalf of Michelle K. Lee CHIEF JUSTICE ROBERTS: I’m concerned that your government program argument is circular. The claim is you’re not registering my mark because it’s…
