The Supreme Court at oral arguments Wednesday appeared skeptical of letting people get trademarks of political figures without consent, despite objections that it would unconstitutionally restrict free speech.
In the case, Steven Elster sought to register a trademark for “Trump too small,” referencing an exchange about hand size that the former president had with Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., at a 2016 primary debate. The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office denied Elster’s application because he did not have Trump’s permission as required by federal law.
In the arguments, justices cited a long history of people having commercial control over their own names and the fact that Elster can still sell as many T-shirts with the slogan as he wants without the intellectual property protections a trademark would afford him.
