SCANDALOUS SUBJECT MATTER

scandalous subject matter. Trademarks. A word, phrase, symbol, or graphic depiction that the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office may refuse to register because it is shockingly offensive to social mores. • Although the Lanham Act uses the phrase “immoral, deceptive, or scandalous subject matter,” courts have not distinguished “scandalous” from “immoral.” [Cases: Trade Regulation 161. […]