Here’s a Video Update on the case of trademarked logos and signs in Tempe, AZ The following article originally appeared in the July 1998 issue of Signs of the Times magazine. By Wade Swormstedt A federal appellate court has upheld the Lanham Act and concurred with a lower-court ruling that the City of Tempe must […]
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Some Policy Considerations For Sign Legislation
The following article originally appeared in the July 1973 issue of Signs of the Times magazine. By Dr. R.James Claus The following article outlines some problems of various North American cities in dealing with the visual environment. We hope this information helps any policy-making body realize the ultimate effect that its decisions regarding signage will have on larger questions, such […]
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Senator Orrin Hatch Discusses Signs and Property Rights
Excerpts from Sen. Orrin Hatch’s keynote address at the National Sign Users’ Conference on Sign Regulation and Marketing The following article originally appeared in the August 1998 issue of Signs of the Times magazine. By Wade Swormstedt “I believe government regulation [of signs] has been burdensome, often times unconstitutional.” At the Intl. Sign Assn.’s (ISA) […]
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Tennessee Billboard Law Ruled Unconstitutional
A 45-year-old, outdoor-advertising act in Tennessee has been declared unconstitutional by a Memphis district judge, because of content-neutrality issues. An April 3, 2017 article in U. S. Today states, “U.S. District Judge Jon P. McCalla said the 1972 law ‘does not survive First Amendment scrutiny’ because it bans some forms of commercial and non-commercial speech […]
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FASI Board Member Weinstein Speaks at National Planning Conference
Alan Weinstein, an acknowledged expert on planning, who holds a joint faculty appointment at Cleveland State University’s Cleveland-Marshall College of Law and Maxine Goodman Levin College of Urban Affairs, and also serves as director of the colleges’ Law & Public Policy Program, will speak at two separate sessions at the 2017 American Planning Association’s National […]
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FASI Board Member Prof. Alan Weinstein Addresses APA Conference about Reed v. Gilbert
Law professor Alan Weinstein, a board member of the newly formed Foundation for the Advancement of the Sign Industry, was one of three people associated with sign-industry groups who spoke at a session on sign regulation at the American Planning Association annual conference, April 4, 2016, in Phoenix, Arizona. Speakers at the session, entitled “Regulating […]
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What Has the Supreme Court Said About On-premise Signage?
Supreme Court cases that involve on-premise signage The 1st Amendment Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances. […]
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Is Your Sign Code Content Neutral? Reed v. Gilbert Warns it Should Be
Quite often, sign codes are primarily governed by their definitions. Many of the definitions are about types of signs: temporary, projecting, banners, fascia, freestanding, pole-mounted, etc. Quite often, however, signs are defined by their content: political, real estate, commercial, yard sale, etc. If a sign is blank, you can still tell what kind of sign it […]
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SGIA Journal Features FASI Article on the Reed v. Gilbert Aftermath
Wade Swormstedt, the Executive Director for FASI, wrote an article for the SGIA Journal’s January/February 2017 issue entitled “Content Neutrality and Signs: The Reed v. Gilbert decision and the aftermath.” Although the actual article is only available online to subscribers, the basic copy is presented here. On June 18, 2015, the Supreme Court of the […]
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Street Graphics Continuing Tragedy
The revision’s major purpose is skirting First Amendment rights. The following article originally appeared in the January 24, 2005 issue of Signs of the Times magazine. By now, you may be sick of reading about the American Planning Assn.’s (APA) third version of Street Graphics. This will be the third consecutive month with coverage (the […]
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