Ritchie v. Simpson
United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit
170 F.3d 1092 (1999)
O.J. Simpson (defendant) applied to register the marks 'O.J. SIMPSON,' 'O.J.,' and 'THE JUICE,' and the applications were approved and published. William Ritchie (plaintiff) opposed registration, arguing the marks were immoral or scandalous and that one mark was unregistrable as primarily a surname; Ritchie, describing himself as a family man who believed in the sanctity of marriage, argued the marks -- associated in his view with a wife abuser and murderer -- would harm those values, and submitted petitions from others who shared his views. The Trademark Trial and Appeal Board found Ritchie lacked standing and dismissed his opposition.
Whether a person opposing trademark registration on grounds the mark is immoral or scandalous has standing when he has a real interest in the proceeding and his belief that he'd be damaged is reasonable.