A legal debate on whether the travel reservation website Booking.com may register for a protected trademark was not expected to be a historic moment for the Supreme Court. But on Monday, the case U.S. Patent and Trademark Office v. Booking.com set two milestones: it was the first argument to be conducted remotely, and the first argument to have its audio live streamed to the public.
The coronavirus pandemic, of course, was the impetus for both changes. Originally set to be argued in March, the Booking.com case was postponed until this Monday. This was an important test run for the Court, as more listeners will surely tune in over the next two weeks to hear arguments for nine other cases, which will address more politically contentious issues. The cases cover high salience issues like exemptions to the Affordable Care Act’s birth control mandate and whether the House of Representatives has the power to subpoena the president’s financial records. In addition, controversial decisions loom in already argued cases, such as the fate of the DACA program, Louisiana’s abortion law, and employment discrimination against transgender people.
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