The federal government has
cancelled six registered trademarks of the NFL team, the Washington Redskins.
The cancelled marks include THE REDSKINS, WASHINGTON REDSKINS, REDSKINETTES, as
well as various stylized logos.
Five
Native Americans brought suit with the United States Patent and Trademark
Office to cancel
the Redskins’s trademarks that were registered
between 1967 and 1990 which used the term “REDSKINS” to identify
football-related services. In a recent ruling, the Trademark Trial and Appeal
Board cancelled the Washington Redskins’ trademark registrations and held that
the “Redskins” name was disparaging to a substantial group of Native Americans
at the time of registration and violated United States Trademark
law, (15 U.S.C. §1052), which prohibits the
federal protection of names that may disparage or bring into disrepute
individuals or groups.
The ruling will not require the Washington Redskins to change its team name,
but it will limit the ways that the team can use the legal system to prevent
others from using the Redskins trademarks. There are significant
advantages associated with federal trademark
registration. For example, federal trademark registration enables trademark
owners to obtain exclusive rights to use their trademarks nationwide on or in
connection with goods and services listed in their registrations and allows
owners to recover actual damages, punitive damages, attorney’s fees, and
injunctions if they prevail in trademark infringement litigation. Nevertheless,
the Washington Redskins’s trademarks are still eligible for common law
trademark protection, which means that the team may still use its trademarks in
commerce and prevent others from using its marks for monetary gain without
authorization.
The Washington Redskins plan to appeal the ruling, and during the appeal
process, the team is entitled to federal protection of its trademarks. Although
the impact of the cancellation of the trademark registrations is still unclear,
the individuals who filed the lawsuit may still claim this as a victory as one
of the purposes of the suit was to draw attention to the use of the term
“Redskins” in an attempt to persuade management to change the team’s name.
The lawyers of Brown, Paindiris & Scott can help you to protect
your intellectual property, register your
trademarks, and defend against claims of infringement. For more information,
visit our website or contact Attorney Regina von
Gootkin.
