Pro-Football Inc., aka the Washington Redskins to many NFL fans and "that football team from Washington" to others, today lost what could end up being an important battle in the fight over the controversial nickname. From AP:
A federal trademark board ruled Wednesday that the Washington Redskins nickname is "disparaging of Native Americans" and that the team's trademark protections should be canceled, a decision that applies new financial and political pressure on the team to change its name.
The 2-1 ruling from the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board came in a case that has been working its way through legal channels for more than two decades. It doesn't force the team to abandon the name, but it comes at a time of increasing criticism of team owner Dan Snyder from political, religious and sports figures who say it's time for a change.
The Redskins quickly announced that they will appeal, and the cancellation for trademark protections will be on hold while the matter makes its way through the courts. That process could take years.
Here's a fact sheet on the case from the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. A statement from the team's trademark attorney said the team was confident it would win on appeal.
Even if the decision is upheld, the team won't be legally required to change its name, but it will lose the protections afforded by registration of the contested trademarks. That could end up costing it a lot of money in merchandise sales. As AP puts it, Washington would "lose a significant portion of its ability to protect the financial interests connected to it. If others printed the name on sweatshirts or other apparel without permission, it would become more cumbersome to go after such groups." (Not everyone agrees with this analysis, however.)
And if you're wondering, trademark law prohibits registration of terms that "may disparage... persons, living or dead, institutions, beliefs, or national symbols, or bring them into contempt, or disrepute." Related to that standard, ThinkProgress has a post called 7 Things That Convinced The U.S. Patent Office To Cancel The Redskins Trademark.
One part of the mounting pressure on the team is that some reporters and media outlets refuse to use the name Redskins. The San Francisco Chronicle joined that group last fall, and after the announcement, KQED's Mina Kim spoke about the decision with Chronicle Managing Editor Audrey Cooper. She said one of the paper's sports columnists first suggested considering whether use of the word was appropriate. The issue was taken up by the paper's style council, which then recommended avoiding the term whenever possible, short of obscuring clarity.