The National Football League Washington Redskins asked the Supreme Court to include the case of The Slants with their own in ruling if the First Amendment allows offensive names federal copyright protection. The federal government used the Lanham Act to make distinctions between “acceptable trademarks and disparaging ones.” A 9-3 decision of the federal appeals court in Washington, D.C. in 2015 held that the Lanham Act’s disparagement provision was unconstitutional. (The New York Times, May 2, 2016, by Adam Liptak)
The appeals court decision supported the Asian music group, The Slants, in their petition for copyright protection. The government is appealing the case to the Supreme Court so the Redskin owner, seeing more viability in The Slants case, wants the two cases considered together. (techdirt, April 26, 2016, by Timothy Geigner)