![\"2015-Poster](\"https:\/\/objects-us-west-1.dream.io\/racefiles\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/05\/2015-Poster-18x12-preview.jpg\")
<\/a><\/p>\nLoyal readers may remember back in October of 2013 we ran a post from Simon Tam of the band The Slants. They have been engaged in a long battle with the US Trademark Office to trademark the name of their band. But the US government, always sensitive as it is to perceived racial injustice, believes the name to be a racist slur. The backstory can be read here<\/a>. This is an open letter Simon Tam has written to the US Trademark Office as their battle continues.<\/em><\/p>\n To the US Trademark Office:<\/p>\n Of all government departments, you should know that the purpose of a trademark is twofold: to aid consumers in product differentiation and protect the brand investments. Yet, due to a widely criticized and outdated law from the 1940\u2019s, you decided to reject a trademark registration for my all-Asian American band, The Slants. This legal battle has lasted over six years now and it\u2019s time that a few things were cleared up.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/span>When our attorney first suggested that we file an application for trademark registration in 2009, it was after a wave of national press for our work in the Asian American community: we had just been featured on NPR\u2019s \u201cAll Things Considered\u201d for taking on stereotypes<\/a> about Asians, we raised money<\/a> for numerous charitable organizations<\/a>, and won several community leadership awards. We never imagined that we would be denied for being too closely associated with Asian American activism.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/span>You cited disparagement as the reason for denial of our trademark, claiming that \u201cThe Slants\u201d is\u00a0an inherent racial slur referring to Asian Americans. In justifying your actions, you cited sources<\/a> that wouldn\u2019t even be acceptable in a junior high classroom, yet somehow seem suitable for a court of law: UrbanDictionary.com, a photo of Miley Cyrus, and Asian-Jokes.com. The real joke of course is that out of the 800+ trademark applications for the term \u201cslant,\u201d the only one you ever rejected for being racist towards Asians is for a group of all Asians.<\/p>\n Also, your assertion of the facts has been incorrect. We\u2019ve provided thousands of pages of evidence, including an independent national survey<\/a>, a dictionary\/linguistics expert report<\/a>, dozens of Asian American leaders and organizations showing support<\/a>, and more. Yet, you continued to be dismissive, calling that effort \u201claudable, but not influential.\u201d<\/p>\n I understand that due to limited resources and lack of cultural competency of your office, mistakes may be made. However, lying in a court of law should be held accountable. For example, you misquoted me several times and mischaracterized events, claiming that one of our band\u2019s performances was canceled \u201cdue to controversy over the name.\u201d Yet when the steering committee of the event in question corrected you on this, stating that we were cancelled due to logistical issues (in fact, we were invited for future performances<\/a> and keynote presentations<\/a>), you continued to willfully assert the false claim, even before a panel of judges<\/a> at the U.S Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/span>When you were questioned about using my ethnicity as the basis for the denial, you backpedaled and wrote \u201cAn application by a band comprised of non Asian-Americans called THE SLANTS that displayed the mark next to the imagery used by applicant . . . would also be subject to a refusal.\u201d The problem is that the \u201cimagery\u201d comprised of photos of our band – we are perpetually tied to our ethnicities, so of course a band of non-Asian Americans wouldn\u2019t face the same issue. You\u2019re basically suggesting that anyone can register a trademark for \u201cThe Slants\u201d<\/a> as long as they don\u2019t look Asian American. This lack of equal protection, and in fact, enforcement of discriminatory practices is staggering.<\/p>\n You had several opportunities to demonstrate competency but you failed to do so. Thousands of Asian Americans raised their voices, yet you ignored them, only to favor unsupported claims and six anonymous internet posts. One of the foremost linguistics experts in the country explained the history of the term \u201cslant,\u201d<\/a> yet you continued to rely on sources from the 1930\u2019s and wiki-backed sites<\/a>. Several organizations, including members of the Japanese American Citizens League wrote in our support<\/a>, yet you distorted their words and claimed that they stood against us.<\/p>\n