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Washington Commanders (official thread)

Greatest thing about that link was this in the comments.

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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.
I always find it strange when the Patent Office is forced to arbitrate morality. I'm sure it makes them uncomfortable too.
This has no business being the business of the government either. Just another distraction from some scandal I'm sure.
The case was heard by the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board, comprised of judges appointed (via the Secretary of Commerce) from numerous different administrations - including many Bush-era appointees. It's a judicial process, not an executive one. And the decision can (and will) be appealed to the Federal Circuit of the US Court of Appeals.
 
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I always find it strange when the Patent Office is forced to arbitrate morality. I'm sure it makes them uncomfortable too.

The case was heard by the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board, comprised of judges appointed (via the Secretary of Commerce) from numerous different administrations - including many Bush-era appointees. It's a judicial process, not an executive one. And the decision can (and will) be appealed to the Federal Circuit of the US Court of Appeals.

Or maybe it doesn't. Nothing in DC happens in a vacuum.

Since Snyder is richer than everyone not named Jerry Jones, he's going to sue and he'll likely win in court. This has happened before apparently and there is a precedent there I've come to find out.
 
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http://www.washingtonpost.com/sport...d6837c-f728-11e3-a3a5-42be35962a52_story.html

“At first blush, it might seem obvious that the USPTO should have the ability to deny registration to racist or vulgar trademarks,” wrote Gabe Rottman, a legislative counsel for the ACLU, last December in an essay considering the team’s trademark question. “But, as with all things free speech, who gets to decide what’s racist or vulgar? That’s right, the government, which is just ill-equipped to make these kinds of determinations.”

You don’t really want government agencies to become the arbiter of acceptable words and images. You really don’t. The main reason you don’t is because, like it or not, what’s offensive is subjective. It creates “a morass of uncertainty,” Rottman wrote. Consider how many offensive violations someone could find in one episode of “The Family Guy.” Or “Game of Thrones,” or “Orange Is The New Black.”

“Being offended is the natural consequence of leaving one’s home,” Fran Lebowitz wrote. She added, “I do not like after-shave lotion, adults who roller skate, children who speak French, or anyone who is unduly tan. I do not, however, go around enacting legislation and putting up signs.”
 
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