{"id":31654,"date":"2019-07-02T15:30:48","date_gmt":"2019-07-02T19:30:48","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/cultureaddicts.com\/?p=31654"},"modified":"2019-06-30T17:10:44","modified_gmt":"2019-06-30T21:10:44","slug":"thunderpussys-trademark-fight-fuelled-by-supreme-court-striking-down-ban-on-scandalous-trademarks","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cultureaddicts.com\/?p=31654","title":{"rendered":"Thunderpussy\u2019s trademark fight fuelled by Supreme Court striking down ban on “scandalous” trademarks"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The U.S. Supreme Court has struck down a ban on trademarking \u201cimmoral\u201d or \u201cscandalous\u201d words as it violates free speech rights, siding with clothing designer\u00a0Eric Brunetti\u00a0and his clothing brand\u00a0FUCT<\/a>\u00a0in the case of\u00a0Iancu v. Brunetti. This will hopefully pave the way for Seattle-based all-female rock band\u00a0Thunderpussy, who applied for a U.S. trademark to protect their name but were denied on the grounds that it was \u201cimmoral\u201d and \u201cscandalous\u201d based on the guidelines laid down in the Truman-era Lanham Act of 1946.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In a joint statement, Thunderpussy says: \u201cWe were elated after hearing about the decision in favor of Brunetti this morning. For us this has always been a First Amendment issue. It\u2019s not just a victory for one man with a clothing brand or for a misunderstood band, but a triumph of free speech. Thank you Simon Tam and The Slants for laying the groundwork, and thank you to the supreme court for upholding the value of free speech in the Brunetti case. Much gratitude to the US government for recognizing that there is value in all forms of expression including those that are \u2018scandalous and immoral.\u2019 This is a huge step forward! BUT it does not mean that we will automatically be granted our trademark. In fact, it is possible for the US Patent & Trademark Office (USPTO) to rule against us on other grounds if they so choose. But the ruling certainly gives us hope!<\/em>“

The justices’ ruling, which goes against President Trump\u2019s administration, follows a course the Supreme Court took in 2017 striking down a law banning registration of \u201cdisparaging\u201d trademarks, in a case involving Asian-American band The Slants whose trademark was initially rejected as being \u201cscandalous\u201d and \u201cdisparaging.\u201d Two years ago, The Slants won their case based on the argument that they were reappropriating an ethnic slur and turning it into a badge of pride. Similarly, as women, Thunderpussy\u2019s intention has always been to shed a positive light on a word that has been used in a derogatory manner and seen as a joke or weak. Because it is exactly the opposite – the word pussy is powerful.

The band, signed to Stardog \/ Republic Records, is currently working on their second album and will embark on a national tour with\u00a0Black Pistol Fire\u00a0and then\u00a0Hollis Brown\u00a0this month – full tour dates below & tickets\u00a0here<\/a>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tour dates<\/strong>
7\/5: Big Sky, MT @ Peak to Sky
7\/12: Santa Fe, NM @ Meow Wolf*
7\/13: Telluride, CO @ The Ride Festival
7\/16: Phoenix, AZ @ Crescent Ballroom*
7\/17: Los Angeles, CA @ El Rey*
7\/19: San Diego, CA @ Belly Up*
7\/20: Sacramento, CA @ Holy Diver*
7\/22: Eugene, OR @ Wow Hall
7\/23: Portland, OR @ Hawthorne*
7\/25: Salt Lake City, UT @ Metro Gallery*
7\/26: Aspen, CO @ Belly Up Aspen*
7\/29: Kansas City, MO @ The Riot Room*
7\/30: St Louis, MO @ Firebird #
7\/31: Columbus, OH @ The Basement #
8\/2: Cleveland, OH @ Grog Shop #
8\/3: Buffalo, NY @ Cobblestone Live
8\/4: Montreal, QC @ Turbo House #
8\/5: Toronto, ON @ Horseshoe Tavern #
8\/7: Cambridge, MA @ Sonias #
8\/8: Asbury Park, NJ @ The Saint #
8\/9: Brooklyn, NY @ Brooklyn Bowl #
8\/10: Philadelphia, PA @ Milkboy #
8\/11: Baltimore, MD @ Metro Gallery #
8\/13: Nashville, TN @ High Watt #
8\/15: Indianapolis, IN @ Hi-Fi Indy #
8\/16: Chicago, IL @ Reggie\u2019s Rock Club #
8\/17: Saint Paul, MN @ Turf Club #
8\/19: Bozeman, MT @ The Eagles Ballroom #
8\/20: Boise, ID @ Humpin\u2019 Hannah’s

*w\/ Black Pistol Fire
# w\/ Hollis Brown
<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The U.S. Supreme Court has struck down a ban on trademarking \u201cimmoral\u201d or \u201cscandalous\u201d words as it violates free speech rights, siding with clothing designer\u00a0Eric […]<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":31655,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"On Culture Addicts: Thunderpussy\u2019s trademark fight fuelled by Supreme Court striking down ban on \"scandalous\" trademarks","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"_wpas_customize_per_network":false},"categories":[22,28,1907],"tags":[8216,8218,8215,8217],"class_list":["post-31654","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-guitar-rock","category-music","category-news","tag-fuct","tag-supreme-court","tag-thunderpussy","tag-trademark"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/cultureaddicts.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/4a98ca0e-f95e-4550-9318-8d26446b0844.png?fit=369%2C422&ssl=1","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p2B2TV-8ey","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":3770,"url":"https:\/\/cultureaddicts.com\/?p=3770","url_meta":{"origin":31654,"position":0},"title":"Divine Fits announce hometown gigs + Golden Ticket contest","author":"cultureaddicts","date":"July 22, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"Divine Fits\u00a0has confirmed that it will make its live debut kicking off a trio of shows in the band members' hometowns - Britt Daniel\u00a0(Austin, TX on August 1),\u00a0Dan Boeckner (Montreal, QC on August 3) and\u00a0Sam Brown\u00a0(Columbus, OH on August 6). 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