Biography
Simon Tam is an author, keynote speaker, composer, and First Amendment advocate best known as the central figure in Matal v. Tam, a unanimous 2017 U.S. Supreme Court decision that redefined First Amendment protections in trademark law. He is the founder and bassist of The Slants, one of the first all-Asian American dance rock bands in the world, and co-founder of The Slants Foundation, a nonprofit supporting civil liberties, the arts, and civic engagement.
As a composer and executive producer, Tam has contributed to numerous film and television projects, drawing on his background in music and storytelling to support work centered on identity, civil rights, and Asian American representation.
As a speaker, Tam has appeared at thousands of events across four continents, including INTA, AIPPI World Congress, SXSW, and hundreds of law schools and bar associations. His presentations are approved for Continuing Legal Education (CLE) credits.
Tam's work has been featured in media outlets including The New York Times, The Washington Post, Rolling Stone, and The Daily Show with Trevor Noah. He has received numerous accolades, including the Mark T. Banner Award from the American Bar Association, the Hugh M. Hefner First Amendment Award, and Milestone Case of the Year from Managing IP Magazine.
In 2019, he published his memoir, Slanted: How an Asian American Troublemaker Took on the Supreme Court, which was named one of the Best Books on the Constitution of All Time by BookAuthority and won the Independent Publisher Book Award for Best Autobiography/Memoir.
