The Washington Redskins will lose their trademark unless they can win an appeal against a ruling of the U.S. Patent Office that their name is disparaging of Native Americans.
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.
While the case is under appeal, you cannot go out and start selling Redskin t-shirts and hats out of the back of your truck. But, unless the ruling is overturned, you’ll be able to that someday soon.
Of course, that would cost all NFL owners revenue and would probably force Dan Snyder’s hand.