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Washington Redskins stripped of trademark protection due to 'disparaging' name
June 18, 2014 at 7:10 pm
Advocates for changing the name of the Redskins made big progress today.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/us-p...story.html
Quote:The United States Patent and Trademark Office has canceled the Washington Redskins trademark registration, calling the football team’s name “disparaging to Native Americans.”
The landmark case, which appeared before the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board, was filed on behalf of five Native Americans. It was the second time such a case was filed.
“This victory was a long time coming and reflects the hard work of many attorneys at our firm,” said lead attorney Jesse Witten, of Drinker Biddle & Reath.
Federal trademark law does not permit registration of trademarks that “may disparage” individuals or groups or “bring them into contempt or disrepute.” The ruling pertains to six different trademarks associated with the team, each containing the word “Redskin.”
Several other professional teams have controversial names as well, will this lead to them losing their names too?
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RE: Washington Redskins stripped of trademark protection due to 'disparaging' name
June 18, 2014 at 7:12 pm
The Redskins announced they will appeal.
It will take years.
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RE: Washington Redskins stripped of trademark protection due to 'disparaging' name
June 18, 2014 at 7:14 pm
I'd suggest that this will lead to a huge increase in unlicensed Redskins swag...
...but who would buy it?
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RE: Washington Redskins stripped of trademark protection due to 'disparaging' name
June 18, 2014 at 7:16 pm
Let it go. It's the least of our troubles...
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RE: Washington Redskins stripped of trademark protection due to 'disparaging' name
June 18, 2014 at 7:19 pm
I'm not sure how I feel about this. On the one hand, it is sort of disparaging, on the other, I've talked to several native Americans about this, and those I've talked to couldn't care less about it, and some of them even expressed their displeasure with the controversy, siding with those who don't want anything to change. Still, on another, isn't the US government taking away the First Amendment by denying the Redskins' trademark? Is it a hate speech thing? I'm not clear on the law. Can anyone fill me in?
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RE: Washington Redskins stripped of trademark protection due to 'disparaging' name
June 18, 2014 at 7:27 pm
(June 18, 2014 at 7:19 pm)rexbeccarox Wrote: I'm not sure how I feel about this. On the one hand, it is sort of disparaging, on the other, I've talked to several native Americans about this, and those I've talked to couldn't care less about it, and some of them even expressed their displeasure with the controversy, siding with those who don't want anything to change. Still, on another, isn't the US government taking away the First Amendment by denying the Redskins' trademark? Is it a hate speech thing? I'm not clear on the law. Can anyone fill me in?
I'd say I'm against it because if one team with a controversial name changes its name, it could easily lead to other similar controversies. The Chicago Blackhawks, Kansas City Chiefs, Atlanta Braves and a number of other North American teams have names that could be considered 'disparaging'. The Redskins fans are largely against it, and many Native Americans are ok with the name, changing it could do more harm than good.
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RE: Washington Redskins stripped of trademark protection due to 'disparaging' name
June 18, 2014 at 7:29 pm
(June 18, 2014 at 7:16 pm)ShaMan Wrote: Let it go. It's the least of our troubles...
Man, did you ever nail it. Between the suicides, alcoholism, poverty, unwed mothers and high school drop outs to concentrate such interest on the logo of a sports team is damned near criminal.
If the Redskins changed their name to the Palefaces native americans would still be up shit's creek. Is tokenism all that matters?
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RE: Washington Redskins stripped of trademark protection due to 'disparaging' name
June 18, 2014 at 7:31 pm
Change it from this...
![[Image: kGKAywkwUGYBrpL-556x313-noPad.jpg]](https://images.weserv.nl/?url=d22r54gnmuhwmk.cloudfront.net%2Fphotos%2F8%2Fka%2Fyw%2FkGKAywkwUGYBrpL-556x313-noPad.jpg)
To this...
![[Image: nativeamericanart.jpg]](https://images.weserv.nl/?url=4.bp.blogspot.com%2F-3DOXuZqnLs4%2FTWzS6lKnH2I%2FAAAAAAAAA2M%2F_OAUYQTPfO8%2Fs1600%2Fnativeamericanart.jpg)
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RE: Washington Redskins stripped of trademark protection due to 'disparaging' name
June 18, 2014 at 7:32 pm
(June 18, 2014 at 7:19 pm)rexbeccarox Wrote: Still, on another, isn't the US government taking away the First Amendment by denying the Redskins' trademark? Is it a hate speech thing? I'm not clear on the law. Can anyone fill me in? The Redskins are free to continue to use the name and the associated logo(s). Losing trademark protection would make it very difficult for them to go after bootlegged items, since they would no longer own the exclusive rights to the name and logo(s). It's not technically a free speech issue.
Because the NFL depends on merchandising for a shitload of money, and because most merchandising revenue is shared (the Cowboys are the exception), the loss of trademark protection might cost the league some merchandising dollars. That could put enough pressure on them to put pressure on the Redskins' owner to change the name.
"Well, evolution is a theory. It is also a fact. And facts and theories are different things, not rungs in a hierarchy of increasing certainty. Facts are the world's data. Theories are structures of ideas that explain and interpret facts. Facts don't go away when scientists debate rival theories to explain them. Einstein's theory of gravitation replaced Newton's in this century, but apples didn't suspend themselves in midair, pending the outcome. And humans evolved from ape- like ancestors whether they did so by Darwin's proposed mechanism or by some other yet to be discovered."
-Stephen Jay Gould
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RE: Washington Redskins stripped of trademark protection due to 'disparaging' name
June 18, 2014 at 7:35 pm
That's helpful. Thanks Tonus.
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