Signs Have Rights!
The products designed, manufactured and installed by the sign and graphics industry do more than just bring strong economic and branding value to end users or deliver valuable wayfinding capabilities to communities. On-premise signs are also entitled to significant legal and constitutional protections.
There is a surprisingly long line of U.S. Supreme Court decisions that affect sign regulations, including Linmark Associates v. Township of Willingboro (1977), Metromedia v. City of San Diego (1981), City Council of Los Angeles v. Taxpayers for Vincent (1984), and City of Ladue v. Gilleo (1994).
More recently, the U.S Supreme Court issued major decisions involving the doctrine of content-neutral sign regulations, which stipulate that the government cannot control the messages on signs or who uses them. The decisions are Reed v. Town of Gilbert (2015) and City of Austin v. Reagan National Advertising (2022), and both affect the ways that many sign and graphics companies conduct business.
ISA regularly monitors and analyzes legal developments and is poised to respond quickly on behalf of the industry. As a result, sign & graphics companies can rest easier knowing that ISA is on the case.
If you have any questions, please reach out to signcodehelp@signs.org.
