You Still Need Permission to Trademark Someone Else’s Name — Vidal v. Elster

You Still Need Permission to Trademark Someone Else’s Name — Vidal v. Elster

^{October 27, 2026 | Intellectual Property News, Legal News}

Decision: Vidal v. Elster, 602 U.S. 286 (2024) — U.S. Supreme Court, decided June 13, 2024 (unanimous in result).

The holding. The Lanham Act’s “names clause” — which bars registration of a trademark that identifies a living person without that person’s written consent — does not violate the First Amendment. Steve Elster sought to register “TRUMP TOO SMALL” for T-shirts, as political commentary. The Patent and Trademark Office refused; the Federal Circuit sided with Elster, reading the Court’s earlier decisions striking down the bars on disparaging and scandalous marks as settling the issue. The Supreme Court reversed. Trademark law has always been content-based — it has to be, since registration turns on what the mark says — and the names clause is viewpoint-neutral: it applies whether the use of the name is flattering or mocking. The Court rested on history and tradition, noting that restrictions on registering other people’s names have coexisted with the First Amendment since the beginning of trademark law.

What it means. The decision draws a line the Court had left open in its earlier trademark cases: not every content-based registration rule is unconstitutional. The bars on disparaging and scandalous marks fell because they discriminated by viewpoint; the names clause survives because it does not. For brand owners and public figures, the practical point is simple — the names clause remains a working tool to stop others from registering your name as a brand. For applicants, political commentary is still protected speech, and Elster remains free to sell his T-shirts; what he cannot do is claim the exclusive federal benefits of registration for a mark built on someone else’s name without their consent.

Sources:

• Opinion: Vidal v. Elster, 602 U.S. 286 (2024)
• Also consulted: Mayer Brown, “US Supreme Court Decision Alert: Vidal v. Elster, No. 22-704” (June 2024); Brown Rudnick, “Supreme Court: Ban on Registering Someone Else’s Name as a Trademark Withstands the First Amendment” (June 2024)