US top court to hear trademark row over band The Slants

The US Supreme Court said Thursday it would hear an appeal of the trademark refusal for rock group The Slants on grounds it was a racial slur against Asians.

Simon Tam, the Asian American founder of The Slants, tried to register the name of the band with the US Patent and Trademark Office.

But the government agency refused the registration, citing federal law against disparagement. It has argued that "The Slants is a highly disparaging reference to people of Asian descent."

The musician and his lawyers argue that the trademark refusal violates the First Amendment of the US Constitution protecting freedom of speech.

The Slants are an Asian American dance rock band that "fuses art with activism," according to the Oregon-based group's website.

"The Slants are and always will be a voice for the next generation of Asian-American musicians, artists, and actors," it said on the website.

"If we win the Trademark it would be a HUGE step in the right direction for all minorities in the entertainment industry."

The band's founder Tam argues that the patent office had allowed a similar move by trademarking NWA, after the pioneering gangsta rap group. The acronym stands for Niggas Wit Attitudes, with the musicians trying to appropriate the slur against African Americans -- shocking audiences in the 1980s.

The Supreme Court's ruling on the federal law barring racial slurs could impact a case involving US football team the Washington Redskins, which also was refused a trademark.

Redskins is considered by some a pejorative term for Native Americans and there has been public pressure to change the name of the team in Washington, the US capital.

Recent public opinion polls, however, show that most Americans want the team to keep it.