Decisions · 85767380
In re Matthew Beck
Serial No. 85767380 · Decided 2015-03-19 · Other
What happened
Refusal affirmed — the Board found PORNO JESUS for adult-themed DVDs and videos may disparage Christian-Americans by linking the central figure of Christianity with pornography, and it is not necessary that a mark name a religious order or belief to be disparaging to adherents.
The marks
Applicant
PORNO JESUS (standard characters; "PORNO" disclaimed)
"DVDs featuring music videos, adult themed content, glamour photography, and adult entertainment; video recordings featuring music videos, adult themed content, glamour photography, and adult entertainment" in International Class 9
Why this decision is significant
Precedential Section 2(a) disparagement analysis of religious references in marks. CAUTION for reuse: the Supreme Court’s Matal v. Tam (2017) later held the disparagement clause unconstitutional, so this decision’s central ground is no longer enforceable — its continuing value is historical and methodological (two-step disparagement framework, composite-mark meaning).
Research significance is Trademark Valet's editorial rating of how useful a decision is to practitioners. It is not a statement of precedential weight — that is the separate Precedential field, which comes from the Board.
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The original record
Read the opinion and every filing on the Board's own docket. The summary above is our paraphrase, not a quotation from the opinion. The opinion is the authority.
Who checked this
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Provenance — Written from the opinion; research-significance tier confirmed.
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