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Constitutional Law Keyed to Feldman
Matal v. Tam
Citation:
137 S. Ct. 1744, 198 L. Ed. 2d 366 (2017)Only StudyBuddy Pro offers the complete Case Brief Anatomy*
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- The Brief Prologue provides necessary case brief introductory information and includes:
- Topic: Identifies the topic of law and where this case fits within your course outline.
- Parties: Identifies the cast of characters involved in the case.
- Procedural Posture & History: Shares the case history with how lower courts have ruled on the matter.
- Case Key Terms, Acts, Doctrines, etc.: A case specific Legal Term Dictionary.
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- Brief Facts: A Synopsis of the Facts of the case.
- Rule of Law: Identifies the Legal Principle the Court used in deciding the case.
- Facts: What are the factual circumstances that gave rise to the civil or criminal case? What is the relationship of the Parties that are involved in the case. Review the Facts of this case here:
Simon Tam, the lead singer of dance-rock band called “The Slants” chose the band name to reclaim the anti-Asian slur. His application for the registration of the mark “THE SLANTS” was denied by the Patent and Trademark Office, because a Lanham Act provision prohibiting the registration of trademarks that may “disparage or bring into contempt or disrepute” any “persons.” When deciding whether a trademark is disparaging, an examiner at the PTO generally applies a two-part test: considers the likely meaning of the matter at question; asks whether the meaning may be disparaging to a substantial composite of the referenced group. The PTO has specified that an application’s good intention underlying its use of a term does not make the term less objectionable.
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- Reasoning and Analysis: Identifies the chain of argument(s) which led the judges to rule as they did.
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