Hurry up and go register all your four-letter word marks. In a case involving FUCT clothing, the Supreme Court said the Trademark Office could no longer refuse registration of a trademark that might be considered scandalous or immoral.

The Trademark Office was permitted to ban from registration marks that are considered “immoral or scandalous”. For example, in the past, the Trademark Office refused registration on the F**K PROJECT, COMPFYBALLS or WIPE YOUR BALLS, or ASSHOLE REPELLENT. Well, open the door to all those dirty word marks now with this ruling. In a ruling concerning the registration of FUCT branded clothing, that was refused as immoral because it sounds like the F word, the Court ruled that the mark could be registered. This is the second big win for free speech at the Trademark Office in recent years as previously the Court ruled that an Asian-American band called the “Slants” should not be blocked for registering their name as a trademark.

This ruling will have a big effect as those marks I referenced above should now be permitted to be registered. While the Trademark Office may not be happy with the ruling, it is probably going to get a lot more business.