This term, the Supreme Court will hear arguments in Lee v. Tam, which considers whether the PTO violated the First Amendment through their denial of a trademark for “The Slants,” an Asian-American rock band. Tony Mauro reports that–in what must be a first–The Slants recorded a rock song about their case!
The new song, [Frontman Simon Tam] said, was meant to be “an open letter to the trademark office.”
He added, “For us, this case has always been about civil rights.”
You can buy a copy from Microsoft–if you do, it will be the best $.99 you spend today. The song, titled “From the Heart,” should serve as the Supreme Court’s Free Speech Anthem.
Here are the official lyrics from frontman Simon Tam:
Sorry if our notes are too sharp
Sorry if our voice is too raw
Don’t make the pen a weapon
And censor our intelligence
Until our thoughts mean nothing at allSorry if you take offense
You made up rules and played pretend
We know you fear change
It’s something so strange
But nothing’s gonna’ get in our wayThere’s no room
For your backward feelings
And your backyard dealings
We’re never gonna settle
We’re never gonna settleNo, we won’t remain silent
Know it’s our defining moment
We sing from the heart
We sing from the heartNo, we won’t be complacent
know it’s a rock n roll nation
We sing from the heart
We sing from the heartSorry if we try too hard
To take some power back for ours
The language of oppression
Will lose to education
Until the words can’t hurt us againSo sorry if you take offense
But silence will not make amends
The system’s all wrong
And it won’t be long
Before the kids are singing our songThere’s no room
For your backward feelings
And your backyard dealings
We’re never gonna settle
We’re never gonna settleNo, we won’t remain silent
Know it’s our defining moment
We sing from the heart
We sing from the heartNo, we won’t be complacent
know it’s a rock n roll nation
We sing from the heart
We sing from the heart
Or, if you’d like it in legalese, here is the Respondent’s brief in opposition to certiorari:
The Slants are also crowdsourcing money to fund their trip to the Supreme Court. I contributed.