Simon Tam

The court ruled unanimously In Tam's favor, holding that trademark registrations may not be rejected under the Disparagement Clause of the Lanham Act (1946) since that would be considered viewpoint discrimination; this includes, as In Tam's case, trademarks using such language filed by members of minority groups who wish to reclaim slurs that would have been previously denied.

Tam was born and raised in San Diego, California.

At age 13, he started his first record label, SBG Records.

He attended Grossmont College, Mt. San Jacinto College, and University of California, Riverside, where he double-majored in philosophy and religious studies.

During this time, he started a music promotion company and was the co-owner of a vintage clothing shop in Temecula, CA called The Populuxe.

A few months before graduating, Tam dropped out of college to join The Stivs, a punk band based in Portland, Oregon.

While with the band, he worked on releases "T.B.I.L Revisited" and "Sweet Heartache and the Satisfaction."

The band made a short appearance on The Price Is Right, and Bob Barker lent his voice as an introduction to their album.

Simon Tam (born March 30, 1981) is an American author, musician, activist, and entrepreneur.

He is best known as the bassist and founder of the Asian American dance-rock band, the Slants, who won their case against the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office at the United States Supreme Court.

The case, Matal v. Tam, was a landmark legal battle that clarified First Amendment rights in trademark law.

In 2004, Tam left The Stivs to form an all-Asian American members rock band.

This eventually became the Slants, the prominent Asian American band that defined most of Tam's career.

During most of his time in Portland, Tam worked for nonprofit organizations as a marketing director and served on the board of numerous social justice organizations.

In 2006, Tam formed the Slants.

He says the band's name was chosen "as a way of seizing control of a racial slur, turning it on its head and draining its venom. It was also a respectful nod to Asian-Americans who had been using the epithet for decades.".

In late 2009, Tam's attorney recommended that he file an application to register the band's trademark.

This eventually became an extensive legal battle when the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) ruled that the band's name was disparaging to persons of Asian descent.

The USPTO relied on UrbanDictionary.com to support its claim.

Initially, Tam provided extensive evidence to appeal the USPTO decision, including testimonies from leading dictionary experts, national surveys, and letters from Asian American community leaders, but the Trademark Office remained steadfast in their refusal.

In 2011, Tam filed a second application that focused on procedural and evidentiary issues in its appeal.

The United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit initially ruled against him but issued a Motion to vacate Sua sponte (on its own accord).

They invited Tam to be arguing the constitutional merits of the law being used against him.

He also finished his college education and graduated with a Master in Business Administration from Marylhurst University in 2013, receiving the Distinguished Alum Award, and began publishing his writing.

During this time, he co-founded the Oregon Center for Human Rights, partnered with his sister to open a restaurant, and established several other businesses.

In 2015, the court ruled in a 9-to-3 vote that the law used by the USPTO violated the First Amendment.

The USPTO appealed the decision to the Supreme Court.

In 2017, he moved to Nashville, Tennessee.

In 2017, the Supreme Court of the United States agreed and ruled unanimously In Tam's favor in Matal v. Tam.

Tam has continued to remain active in First Amendment activism after the conclusion of his Supreme Court case.

After retiring from touring with the Slants in 2019, Tam continued to endeavor in other art forms, including storytelling, theatre, composing, and art.

In 2019, he joined prominent hip-hop artists Killer Mike, Chance the Rapper, Meek Mill, and 21 Savage in filing an amicus brief in Jamal Knox v. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.

He also filed a brief at the Supreme Court on behalf of Erik Brunetti in Iancu v. Brunetti, often known as the sister case to Matal v. Tam, which struck down the "scandalous" and "immoral" provisions of the Lanham Act.

Additionally, he often speaks at legal and community events around the world on Matal v. Tam.

In addition, he leads Continuing Learning Education (CLE) credit courses for attorneys and teaches on Matal v. Tam.

In 2020, Tam was selected as an artist in residence for the UNC Process Series, debuting a work for the Remembrance and Renewal Storytelling Festival.

In 2021, Tam and his longtime collaborator in the Slants, Joe X. Jiang, were selected artists for the Cincinnati Fringe Festival's development program and Borderlight Festival.

That same year, Tam and Jiang composed scores for television shows streaming on the Peacock Network, including Comedy InvAsian 2.0, and the film Namba: A Japanese American's Incarceration and Life of Resistance.

In 2022, Tam and Jiang were selected as chosen as artists for Opera Theatre of Saint Louis' New Works Collective program to develop a new groundbreaking opera based on Tam's journey to the Supreme Court.

In 2023, Simon returned to the stage with The Slants for a series of reunion shows celebrating the release of their final record, The Band Plays On.