On March 4, 2019 the United States Supreme Court issued a unanimous decision in Fourth Estate Public Benefit Corp. v. Wall-Street.com, LLC  clearing up that registration is a jurisdictional prerequisite to filing a copyright action.  In the opinion authored by Justice Ginsburg, the Supreme Court concluded that a copyright claimant may commence an infringement suit

Pixelated TM sign made from cubes, mosaic pattern

The Supreme Court ruled Monday that a provision of federal trademark law banning offensive trademarks from federal registration is unconstitutional. Matal v. Tam, No. 15-1293 (U.S. June 19, 2017). The case concerned a dance rock band’s application for a federal trademark registration of the band’s name, “The Slants.” “Slants” is a derogatory term for