{"id":16237,"date":"2013-10-17T00:10:18","date_gmt":"2013-10-17T00:10:18","guid":{"rendered":""},"modified":"2013-10-18T02:10:15","modified_gmt":"2013-10-18T02:10:15","slug":"-The-Slants-lose-trademark-appeal","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/asiancemagazine.com\/?p=16237","title":{"rendered":"&#8216;The Slants&#8217; lose trademark appeal"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>The Portland-based Asian-American dance-rock band embroiled in a trademark dispute over its name isn\u2019t going down without a fight!!<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>The U.S. Trademark Trial and Appeals Board upheld a decision not too allow the band The Slants to trademark its name because the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office deemed it offensive. The Slants have fought their case for nearly four years.<\/p>\n<p>The band will now appeal the findings to a federal circuit court.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Specifically, the patent office said the name is \u201cdisparaging to persons of Asian descent.\u201d<\/strong> The band has accumulated support from Asian-American community activists over the years.<\/p>\n<p><iframe width=\"500\" height=\"315\" src=\"\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/2Pw489YTioE\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p><strong>The Slants originally filed a trademark application and indicated their music contained \u201cAsian-related content.\u201d<\/strong> It filed a new application with the patent office that removed that designation but was, again, rejected.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAs it stands now, therefore, there is nothing our client can do, or not do, if he wants to register the SLANTS trademark,\u201d said Ronald Coleman, a Goetz Fitzpatrick LLP attorney who\u2019s representing the band.<\/p>\n<p>A release issued by the band\u2019s record company In Music We Trust noted that the trademark office has collected more than 760 applications containing some variation on the word \u201cslant.\u201d The Portland band is the only one for which the application was rejected based on the ruling that it disparaged persons of Asian descent.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Hmmmm? Where&#8217;s the freedom?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>\u201cTheir only justification for applying an accusation of disparagement on our case but no other applicant was based on my race,\u201d said Simon Tam, the band\u2019s Asian-American manager who filed the trademark application. \u201cIn fact, the implication is that if we weren\u2019t Asian, there wouldn\u2019t be any problems because people wouldn\u2019t associate our name with an obscure racial slur.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAnd while it\u2019s true that the people in the band can be identified by a band\u2019s name, it doesn\u2019t necessarily mean that the members literally embody the name of the band. No one thinks \u2018The Rolling Stones\u2019 are literal masses of undulating rock or that \u2018Led Zeppelin\u2019 is a metallic reincarnation of the Hindenburg blimp.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><strong>What do you think? Should they be allowed to trademark the name or is it perpetuating stereotypes?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><em>Source <a href=\"http:\/\/www.bizjournals.com\">www.bizjournals.com<\/a><\/em><br \/>\n<!--break--><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Portland-based Asian-American dance-rock band embroiled in a trademark dispute over its name isn\u2019t going down without a fight!! 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