ACORN whistleblower case moves to discovery

CIR’s case on behalf of ACORN whistleblower Anita MonCrief moved forward with a decision by U.S. District Court Judge Richard W. Roberts to grant MonCrief’s motion to dismiss the trademark claims against her on grounds related to the First Amendment. It was not a violation of trademark law, the judge ruled, to use another’s “mark” (here, the name “Project Vote”) to express a point of view rather than for any commercial purpose. The case currently is in pretrial discovery.