The battle over the name of the Washington Redskins has played out in an unusual venue, as the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office said it will cancel trademark protection of a name that is “disparaging of Native Americans.”
The lead plaintiff in the case is Amanda Blackhorse, a Navaho social worker who lives in Arizona and since 2005 has been part of the battle to get rid of the name.
The NFL team plans to appeal the decision, adding that the trademark cancellation will have no impact on the team’s use of the Redskins name and logo.
So what does the trademark ruling really mean for the team?
At this stage – nothing, said TSN legal analyst and trademark lawyer Eric Macramalla.
While the appeal is underway, the Redskins’ trademark protections still stand, he told CTV News Channel Wednesday.
Even if the team loses the appeal, talk of the Redskins losing all rights to their name is “absolutely incorrect,” Macramalla said.
The team will still have what’s known as common law trademark rights, acquired simply by using their name on merchandise in the marketplace, on their website and elsewhere, he said.
“If the Redskins today had no trademark registration rights for the Redskins mark, they could still stop some guy in Wisconsin from making unauthorized use of their mark,” he said.
Macramalla called Wednesday’s ruling “a symbolic move” by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.
“It’s an important and significant move, but is it fatal to the Redskins name? No.”
What the ruling signifies, Macramalla said, is added pressure on the team to finally change its name, after years of complaints from Native American groups, and more recently, outrage on social media. Fifty U.S. senators also signed a letter urging the team to pick a new name.
“There is no grey area here. The Redskins name is a slur,” Macramalla said.
The pressure on the team is likely to persist. Macramalla said he expects that the team name will ultimately be changed.
