Re: Advertising violations

On 3/23/99, Bob Cumbow <cumbr[_at_]perkinscoie.com> wrote:
>
> Nothing actually "overrides" the First Amendment. I think it is more
> useful to regard copyright, trademark, and right of publicity as
> LIMITATIONS on the First Amendment. Also keep in mind that while
> copyright generally is of issue where two parties' First Amendment
> rights conflict, trademark and right of publicity are limitations on
> COMMERCIAL speech, which enjoys a lower level of First Amendment
> protecton to begin with.

Precisely. No rights-granting provision in the Constitution is absolute. They all represent restriction on the power of government, and all are subject to varying limitations. These limitations do not override the Constitution; they simply add judicially created exceptions in circumstances in which a literal reading would not make sense and would not contribute positively to a society that is free but still sufficiently ordered to function. Time, place, and manner limitations under the 1st amendment come immediately to mind.

John Allison
allisonj[_at_]mail.utexas.edu Received on Wed Mar 24 1999 - 14:18:50 GMT