the slants

Simon Tam’s Memoir Closes the Book on His Band the Slants’ Long Legal Fight—and Their Career

The long-running, Portland-born “Chinatown dance rock” band has been together since 2006, but for most of the past decade, they’ve been best known for their legal fight against the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, which did not appreciate or understand the irony and power of an Asian American band deciding to reclaim a racial slur.

The Year in Portland Music, Ranked

The good, the bad and the weird of 2017, in 19 lists.

Watch Portland Band the Slants Discuss Their Landmark Supreme Court Victory On "The Daily Show"

“Why are you fighting so hard for the right to be racially abused? You can get it for free on Twitter.”

Portland Band the Slants Wins Landmark Supreme Court Victory

The Slants now get to enjoy the same legal status as such upstanding bands as Anal Cunt—which was allowed a trademark while the Slants were denied it.

Portland Band the Slants Take Their Trademark Case to the Supreme Court This Week

If upheld, the ruling could have a significant impact on another high-profile trademark case involving the Washington Redskins.

The Washington Redskins Look to Connect Their Trademark Battle to Portland Band the Slants

The Post reports the Redskins organization is hoping to piggyback off the appeals court’s ruling in the Slants’ case and go straight to the high court.

Portland Band the Slants Wins Huge Victory in Federal Circuit Court

For five and a half years, the Portland band has been denied the right to trademark their own name, because the U. S. Patent and Trademark Office ruled that the name was disparaging—to themselves.

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