HARRISBURG — Pennsylvania's trademark counterfeiting law is worded so broadly it criminalizes speech protected by the First Amendment, the state Supreme Court ruled in a 4-3 decision overturning the statute.

Writing for the majority, Justice Max Baer said the law bans any use of a trademark without authorization, not only uses intended to generate illegal profits.

"Taken to the extreme, even our use of the words 'Nike' and 'Penn State' in this opinion without the permission of the company or the university would fall under the current definition of a counterfeit mark," Baer wrote in Monday's decision. "Clearly, the statute prohibits a substantial amount of protected speech."

The ruling stemmed from appeals by the Centre County district attorney's office in two cases involving men who were arrested for violating the law. In both cases — one involving the possession of boxes of allegedly counterfeit Nike sneakers, the other the sale of hats bearing the Penn State logo outside the university's Beaver Stadium in State College — county judges dismissed the charges on constitutional grounds.

Baer said the justices agree the Legislature's likely intent was to bar the unauthorized use of trademarks for profit, but that the "plain language" of the law prohibits a much broader range of uses.

For example, the definition of "intellectual property" in the law includes not only a trademark or trade name, but any "term" or "word" used to identify goods or services.

The law "unconstitutionally prohibits protected speech, including the use of words on a sign praising or protesting any entity with a trademarked name, including Penn State," Baer wrote.

District Attorney Michael T. Madeira said Tuesday he was disappointed by the decision but that he expects the Pennsylvania District Attorneys Association will work with legislators to rewrite the law so it passes constitutional muster.