Redskins trademark ordered cancelled by judge

Five Native Americans initiated the cancellation proceeding pursuant to the USA Trademarks Act, which “prohibits registration of marks that may disparage persons or bring them into contempt or disrepute”. The ruling backs up the earlier administrative appeal board finding.

A federal district judge has ruled against the Washington Redskins in a trademark dispute, referring to a recent Supreme Court case about confederate-flag license plates and a famous Allen Iverson rant along the way. (The team continues to enjoy the benefits of its federal registrations until all potential appeals are exhausted.).

The Trademark Trial and Appeal Board previously stripped the Redskins of trademark protections in 1999 based on a similar claim filed in 1992.

Redskins President Bruce Allen said the team will appeal.

A federal judge has ordered the Patent and Trade… The ruling doesn’t prohibit the Redskins from using the name, but it doesn’t protect their ability to maintain exclusive rights to the likeness of their logo and the name and activists are hoping that it helps spur a decision to change the name.

“This is a huge victory”, Jesse Witten, one of the lawyers for the parties fighting the team, told the Post. It can still use the name “Redskins” however. In a 2014 ESPN interview, Snyder insisted that the Redskins’ name and logo are signs of respect for the team’s first coach, William Henry “Lone Star” Dietz, and his Native American heritage.

It just doesn’t have a First Amendment Right to have that name covered by federal trademark protections.

However, Lee said the trademark registration program was government speech, not private speech, allowing officials more leeway to determine what messages they want to approve. He cited the fact that Native American leaders have been objecting to the name for decades, along with dictionary citations that the word is typically considered offensive.

However, among other legal arguments the Redskins voiced in court, the team rebutted stating that many Native Americans actually loved the name.