Free Speech, Free Markets & the Death of Trademark Law

Building on a public address given at NLU-Delhi in May, 2016, this Article examines the question of the relationship between economic liberalism and democracy. Is it a contradiction, or even a matter of concern, for a society to have free speech but not free markets, as Ronald Coase suggested? The Article resolves the tension through a consideration of the two different meanings of freedom and the differing, even if overlapping, goals of markets and politics. The ongoing debate over free expression and trademarks serves to anchor the argument with the main conclusion that commercial speech offers a unique example for economic liberalism and democracy, one that is distinct from the need for a multiplicity of viewpoints in the marketplace for ideas. The Article examines these ideas both in current United States Supreme Court jurisprudence and in global debates