Federal Circuit Ruling Opens the Door to "Offensive" Design Patents

This week, the en banc Federal Circuit issued an opinion in In re Tam, No. 14-1203 (Fed. Cir. Dec. 22, 2015), holding that the relevant portion of Section 2(a) of the Trademark Act barring the patent office from registering scandalous, immoral or disparaging marks was an unconstitutional infringement of the First Amendment.  The Federal Circuit's decision has significant implications for another trademark case pending in the Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit, wherein the Washington Redskins seek to overturn the Patent and Trademark Office's cancellation of the "Redskins" trademark on the same grounds.   Pro-Football, Inc. v. Blackhorse,  No. 15-1874 (4th Cir. filed Aug. 6, 2015).  But what does this decision mean for design patent law, which retains the authority to refuse to issue patents covering ornamental designs deemed "offensive to any race, religion, sex, ethnic group or nationality?"  Find out after the jump.