The Supreme Court will hear oral argument in Lee* v. Tam on January 18, 2017. The question presented is:
Whether the disparagement provision of the Lanham Act, 15 U.S.C. 1052(a), which provides that no trademark shall be refused registration on account of its nature unless, inter alia, it “[c]onsists of . . . matter which may disparage . . . persons, living or dead, institutions, beliefs, or national symbols, or bring them into contempt, or disrepute” is facially invalid under the Free Speech Clause of the First Amendment.
If Director Lee decides to leave the USPTO before the decision issues, I suspect the decision will issue under a different caption.