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- Thread starter BuckeyeTillIDie
- Start date
http://thinkprogress.org/sports/201...cancels-trademark-for-redskins-football-team/
In Landmark Decision, U.S. Patent Office Cancels Trademark For Redskins Football Team
The United States Patent and Trademark Office has canceled six federal trademark registrations for the name of the Washington Redskins, ruling that the name is “disparaging to Native Americans” and thus cannot be trademarked under federal law that prohibits the protection of offensive or disparaging language.
The U.S. PTO’s Trademark Trial and Appeal Board issued a ruling in the case, brought against the team by plaintiff Amanda Blackhorse, Wednesday morning.
“We decide, based on the evidence properly before us, that these registrations must be cancelled because they were disparaging to Native Americans at the respective times they were registered,” the board wrote in its opinion, “>which is here.
“The Trademark Trial and Appeal Board agreed with our clients that the team’s name and trademarks disparage Native Americans. The Board ruled that the Trademark Office should never have registered these trademarks in the first place,” Jesse Witten, the plaintiffs’ lead attorney, said in a press release. “We presented a wide variety of evidence – including dictionary definitions and other reference works, newspaper clippings, movie clips, scholarly articles, expert linguist testimony, and evidence of the historic opposition by Native American groups – to demonstrate that the word ‘redskin’ is an ethnic slur.”
Cont'd ...
In Landmark Decision, U.S. Patent Office Cancels Trademark For Redskins Football Team
The United States Patent and Trademark Office has canceled six federal trademark registrations for the name of the Washington Redskins, ruling that the name is “disparaging to Native Americans” and thus cannot be trademarked under federal law that prohibits the protection of offensive or disparaging language.
The U.S. PTO’s Trademark Trial and Appeal Board issued a ruling in the case, brought against the team by plaintiff Amanda Blackhorse, Wednesday morning.
“We decide, based on the evidence properly before us, that these registrations must be cancelled because they were disparaging to Native Americans at the respective times they were registered,” the board wrote in its opinion, “>which is here.
“The Trademark Trial and Appeal Board agreed with our clients that the team’s name and trademarks disparage Native Americans. The Board ruled that the Trademark Office should never have registered these trademarks in the first place,” Jesse Witten, the plaintiffs’ lead attorney, said in a press release. “We presented a wide variety of evidence – including dictionary definitions and other reference works, newspaper clippings, movie clips, scholarly articles, expert linguist testimony, and evidence of the historic opposition by Native American groups – to demonstrate that the word ‘redskin’ is an ethnic slur.”
Cont'd ...
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I'm still offended by Fighting Irish. Where's the removal of Ntre Ame's patent hippie patent office board members?
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Nope. Purely political.
Not to say the name shouldn't go eventually, but this is clearly motivated by something behind the scenes in DC.
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Think of it this way...now someone (PETA) is going to say teams can't be named after animals. Then midgets will get pissed becasue there's a few teams named Giants. Non-Patriots will be wanting to get rid of the Patriots.
The whole thing is really silly. Pretty typical of this country these days.
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Fightin Irish promotes violence and generates visions of drunken brawls. I'm offended. Change it now.
See how stupid and silly this could degenerate into?
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Bucky32
Legend
This adds some really good context to the term of which I was unaware. This history, however, still doesn't really include how Native Americans feel about it, as noted at the start of the article:
We could both go and find surveys that say NA's either support the nickname or are against it. There's no consensus on the issue, obviously. But I'm skeptical on the assertion that the term hasn't historically been used in a derogatory fashion, an issue the article seems to tiptoe around.
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That's because you really can't define the line where people see it as derogatory or not. That line will vary with every person.
This has no business being the business of the government either. Just another distraction from some scandal I'm sure.
This has no business being the business of the government either. Just another distraction from some scandal I'm sure.
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