U.S. Patent and Trademark Office Cancels “Washington Redskins”
After months of speculation and media scrutiny, the United States Patent and Trademark Office has cancelled six federal trademark registrations for the “Washington Redskins” based on a finding that the mark is “disparaging to Native Americans.” The Board’s decision noted that the Trademark Office should never have allowed registration of the trademarks to proceed in the first place. Although the petition for cancellation was filed eight years ago, the movement to cancel the trademark registrations had recently gained visibility and palpable momentum in the past few months.
In 1999, the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board had actually rescinded protection of the marks, but that ruling was overturned by a federal court on appeal. Despite the alleged negative racial connotations associated with the trademarks, the National Football League Team intends to appeal the case. As such, it will be allowed to maintain its trademark protection during the appeals process.
As trademark attorneys know, however, the cancellation of the six registrations would not force the team to actually change its name. It would simply mean that the team would have to rely on state and common law as the legal means to assert any rights in its name. Despite the negative publicity, the NFL team is confident it will win its appeal. Team attorney Bob Raskopf was quoted as saying “We are confident we will prevail once again… This case is no different than an earlier case.”
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