Trademark Application For the N Word

In June the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that rejecting disparaging trademarks violates the First Amendment. The case pitted an Asian American rock group called the Slants against the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. The day the decision came down Steve Maynard, an attorney, and Curtis Bordenave, a resident of Mississippi, filed to trademark variations of the n-word. Bordenave said his goal was to prevent racists from making money from it. Maynard, whohas  also filed to trademark the Nazi swastika, said he wants to quash hate by getting the rights to the racial slur. A spokesman for the USPTO refused to comment on the application, but noted that trademarks flagged under a “scandalousness provision” can still be denied.