news
07-08-2015, 02:52 PM
Washington's professional football team has lost another fight over its name.
A federal judge ruled (http://pdfserver.amlaw.com/nlj/ProFootball%20Blackhorse%20opinion.pdf) on Wednesday that the team cannot legally trademark its "Redskins" nickname, as The Washington Post first reported (http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/judge-upholds-cancellation-of-redskins-trademarks-in-a-legal-and-symbolic-setback-for-team/2015/07/08/5a65424e-1e6e-11e5-aeb9-a411a84c9d55_story.html?tid=sm_tw). The decision upholds a previous ruling from the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office's Trademark Trial and Appeals Board, which voted 2-1 last year to cancel the team's trademarks (http://thinkprogress.org/sports/2014/06/18/3450333/in-landmark-decision-us-patent-office-cancels-trademark-for-redskins-football-team/).
The board ruled in June 2014 that the name was "disparaging to Native Americans" and thus violated federal laws that prohibit trademark protections for demeaning or offensive language.
The franchise countered that decision by suing the plaintiffs in the original case, arguing in court filings that the Trademark Board's ruling violated the First Amendment's protections of free speech. The Justice Department intervened in the case (http://start.westnet.ca/newstempch.php?article=2015/01/09/justice-department-redskins_n_6444242.html) to defend the constitutionality of the Lanham Act, the trademark law in question.
"Today's ruling by the District Court resoundingly affirmed the Trademark Office’s decision that the team’s trademark registrations should never have been issued," Jesse Witten, an attorney for the Native Americans challenging the name, said in an emailed statement. "Judge Gerald Bruce Lee found that the evidence we presented -- opposition to the team name by the National Congress of American Indians and other leading Native American groups and individuals, dictionary definitions, scholarly articles, and newspaper clips -- demonstrated the disparaging nature of the team’s name. This decision is a victory for human dignity and for my courageous clients who have waited so long for this ruling.”
The decision to cancel the trademarks will not go into effect until the team finishes the appeal process, which it could try to take all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court.
Losing the trademark will not force the Washington team to change its name (http://thinkprogress.org/sports/2014/06/19/3450729/redskins-trademark-decision-cost-lots-of-money/), which Native Americans have long deemed offensive. The team could still attempt to trademark its name under state laws or common law trademark protections.
In 1999, the team lost an earlier trademark decision in front of the Trial and Appeals Board, but that decision was later overturned by a district judge.
This is a developing story and will be updated.
-- This feed and its contents are the property of The Huffington Post, and use is subject to our terms. (http://start.westnet.ca/newstempch.php?article=terms.html/) It may be used for personal consumption, but may not be distributed on a website.
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A federal judge ruled (http://pdfserver.amlaw.com/nlj/ProFootball%20Blackhorse%20opinion.pdf) on Wednesday that the team cannot legally trademark its "Redskins" nickname, as The Washington Post first reported (http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/judge-upholds-cancellation-of-redskins-trademarks-in-a-legal-and-symbolic-setback-for-team/2015/07/08/5a65424e-1e6e-11e5-aeb9-a411a84c9d55_story.html?tid=sm_tw). The decision upholds a previous ruling from the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office's Trademark Trial and Appeals Board, which voted 2-1 last year to cancel the team's trademarks (http://thinkprogress.org/sports/2014/06/18/3450333/in-landmark-decision-us-patent-office-cancels-trademark-for-redskins-football-team/).
The board ruled in June 2014 that the name was "disparaging to Native Americans" and thus violated federal laws that prohibit trademark protections for demeaning or offensive language.
The franchise countered that decision by suing the plaintiffs in the original case, arguing in court filings that the Trademark Board's ruling violated the First Amendment's protections of free speech. The Justice Department intervened in the case (http://start.westnet.ca/newstempch.php?article=2015/01/09/justice-department-redskins_n_6444242.html) to defend the constitutionality of the Lanham Act, the trademark law in question.
"Today's ruling by the District Court resoundingly affirmed the Trademark Office’s decision that the team’s trademark registrations should never have been issued," Jesse Witten, an attorney for the Native Americans challenging the name, said in an emailed statement. "Judge Gerald Bruce Lee found that the evidence we presented -- opposition to the team name by the National Congress of American Indians and other leading Native American groups and individuals, dictionary definitions, scholarly articles, and newspaper clips -- demonstrated the disparaging nature of the team’s name. This decision is a victory for human dignity and for my courageous clients who have waited so long for this ruling.”
The decision to cancel the trademarks will not go into effect until the team finishes the appeal process, which it could try to take all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court.
Losing the trademark will not force the Washington team to change its name (http://thinkprogress.org/sports/2014/06/19/3450729/redskins-trademark-decision-cost-lots-of-money/), which Native Americans have long deemed offensive. The team could still attempt to trademark its name under state laws or common law trademark protections.
In 1999, the team lost an earlier trademark decision in front of the Trial and Appeals Board, but that decision was later overturned by a district judge.
This is a developing story and will be updated.
-- This feed and its contents are the property of The Huffington Post, and use is subject to our terms. (http://start.westnet.ca/newstempch.php?article=terms.html/) It may be used for personal consumption, but may not be distributed on a website.
http://rc.feedsportal.com/r/233194449799/u/0/f/677045/c/35496/s/47f1cddf/sc/7/rc/1/rc.img (http://rc.feedsportal.com/r/233194449799/u/0/f/677045/c/35496/s/47f1cddf/sc/7/rc/1/rc.htm)
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