They Call Us Bruce - Episode 13: The Call Us The Slants

Jeff Yang and Phil Yu present an unfiltered conversation about what's happening in Asian America.



What's up, podcast listeners? We've got another episode of our podcast They Call Us Bruce. Each week, my good friend, writer/columnist Jeff Yang and I host an unfiltered conversation about what's happening in Asian America, with a strong focus on media, entertainment and popular culture.

This week, we welcome Simon Tam, front man for the embattled Asian American rock band The Slants. He talks about the eight-year fight to trademark their band name, the landmark Supreme Court ruling in their favor, and the important right for Asian Americans and other marginalized communities to call ourselves whatever we want.

The Slants win court battle over band name trademark

Federal Circuit Court rules the government cannot deny trademarks for being "disparaging."



Victory for The Slants! The Portland-based rock band, who have been embroiled in long-running legal struggle for the right to trademark their name, has scored a big victory in the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit.

Government Can't Deny Trademarks Over Offensive Names, Appeals Court Rules

The Slants' founder and frontman Simon Tam has been locked in a widely-publicized six-year battle with the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office, which refused to trademark his band's name on the grounds that "slants" can be interpreted as a racial slur. At issue in the case was Section 2(a) of the Lanham Act, which allows the USPTO to deny or cancel a trademark if it is "disparaging" of persons, institutions or national symbols.

On Tuesday, the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit ruled that the band's name is private speech, and the USPTO's refusal to grant the "Slants" mark is a violation of Tam's First Amendment rights.

"It is a bedrock principle underlying the First Amendment that the government may not penalize private speech merely because it disapproves of the message it conveys," writes Federal Circuit Judge Kimberly Ann Moore. "That principle governs even when the government's message-discriminatory penalty is less than a prohibition."

The Slants to NAPABA: Stop Undermining the Work of Activists

Guest Post by Simon Tam of The Slants



On July 17, the National Asian Pacific American Bar Association (NAPABA), the South Asian Bar Association of Washington, D.C., (SABA-DC) and the Fred T. Korematsu Center for Law and Equality (Korematsu Center) jointly filed an amicus brief to support the U.S. Trademark Office's denial of trademark registration for my Asian American band, The Slants.

The case has been profiled in numerous media outlets and has brought on larger questions about reappropriation, language, and identity. While there are certainly legal arguments to be had among lawyers and judges, I believe a separate conversation is necessary on the ethical implications of what transpired.

Frankly, I was surprised at NAPABA's position, because for five years, the organization and many of its members expressed deep interest in supporting The Slants. In fact, I was on a featured panel at their 2014 national convention and NAPABA (along with several of their individual chapters) have sponsored numerous events for The Slants. Earlier this May, I had multiple conversations with NAPABA president, George Chen, who said "You have many fans within NAPABA."

angry reader of the week: simon tam

Okay, everybody. Time to meet another Angry Reader of the Week, spotlighting you, the very special readers of this website. Over the years, I've been able to connect with a lot of cool folks, and this is a way of showing some appreciation and attention to the people who help make this blog what it is. This week's Angry Reader is Simon Tam of The Slants.