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Condom manufacturers in the US have never been known for subtlety when
it comes to naming products. In the past the US Patent and Trademark Office
has approved such brands as ‘Deep Stroker,’ ‘Mister Hard Head’ and ‘Sneaky
Pete’. But in a hearing before the trademark appeals board last week, an
examining attorney argued that a logo for Old Glory condoms depicting a
striped and star-spangled banner in the shape of a condom was ‘scandalous’.

The red, white and blue condoms are distributed by the Old Glory Corporation,
the brainchild of artist and AIDS activist Jay Critchley. Last year, when
he tried to register his logo, examining attorney Rachel Blue denied the
application based on a federal statute that allows such a decision if the
logo is ‘immoral, deceptive or scandalous’.

‘Nobody can determine for the country what is immoral or scandalous,
therefore this law is unconstitutional,’ said David Cole, who is representing
Old Glory on behalf of the Center for Constitutional Rights. ‘But it is
particularly dangerous to make judgments about what is politically scandalous.’

The decision by the Trademark Office is just one more example of the
government’s negligence towards the AIDS epidemic, Critchley said last week.
He plans to donate a portion of the profits from Old Glory to safer sex
education and AIDS related services. But, says Cole: ‘You have to sell a
lot of condoms to make a profit. He’s doing it more as a political point.