Washington Redskins Flagged for Disparaging Trademark; Appellate Review Expected.

July 24, 2014

On June 18, 2014 the United States Patent and Trademark Office canceled six federal trademark registrations for the name of the Washington Redskins. Relying heavily on the rationale in Heeb Media, LLC, the Board found the name “Redskins” is “disparaging to Native Americans” and therefore cannot be trademarked under federal law. According to the Board, “these registrations must be cancelled because they were disparaging to Native Americans at the respective times they were registered, in violation of Section 2(a) of the Trademark Act of 1946, 15 U.S.C. § 1052(a).” As in Heeb, the Board concluded that evidence of good intent does not minimize a finding of disparagement, since a substantial portion of the referenced group found the term disparaging in its context.

According to a statement by its counsel, the Washington Redskins will appeal the decision and the team will be able to keep its trademark protection during appeal. The appeal is sure to be closely watched, but even if the ruling does not get overturned, we are likely to see Washington sport their Redskins logo in upcoming seasons. The Trial and Appeal Board does not have the jurisdiction in a cancellation proceeding to require that a party cease use of a mark, but only to determine whether the mark can be continued to be registered.