Two incredible things happened in 1992 for the NFL football team Washington Redskins. It won the Super Bowl and applied to register a trademark Washington Redskins. It has not been so lucky ever since. It has not won another...more
1/30/2018
/ Commercial Speech ,
Constitutional Challenges ,
Disparagement ,
First Amendment ,
Free Speech ,
Lanham Act ,
Matal v Tam ,
NFL ,
Redskins ,
SCOTUS ,
The Slants ,
Trademark Registration ,
Trademarks ,
USPTO
In a unanimous decision handed down on June 19th, the U.S. Supreme Court struck down as unconstitutional a long-standing prohibition against federal registration of “disparaging” trademarks, finding that the this provision of...more
6/21/2017
/ Constitutional Challenges ,
Disparagement ,
First Amendment ,
Football ,
Free Speech ,
Lanham Act ,
Matal v Tam ,
Music Industry ,
NFL ,
Redskins ,
SCOTUS ,
The Slants ,
Trademark Registration ,
Trademark Trial and Appeal Board ,
Trademarks ,
USPTO
Further to our post last Friday on the SLANTS trademark case, the U.S. Supreme Court today, without comment, refused the Redskins’ Petition to join the SLANTS case challenging the U.S. Trademark Office’s ban on “offensive”...more
The U.S. Supreme Court announced today that it will review whether the U.S. Trademark Office can deny registration of offensive trademarks or whether such prohibition violates the First Amendment. The dispute affects the...more
What do Washington D.C.’s NFL team, the Redskins, and Mr. Tam’s rock band, The Slants, have in common? Both have enjoyed unexpected victories recently and both have been called “disparaging” by the Patent and Trademark Office...more
On December 22nd, 2015, the Federal Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that the section of the Lanham Act which bans registration of “disparaging” trademarks is an unconstitutional violation of First Amendment free...more
The Washington Redskins professional football team will soon not only be battling Native Americans over the registrability of the REDSKINS trademark, but will also have to cross swords with the US Government. Last week, the...more
1/14/2015
/ Appeals ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Federal Rules of Civil Procedure ,
Fifth Amendment ,
Football ,
Lanham Act ,
Native American Issues ,
Notice of Intent ,
Redskins ,
Takings Clause ,
Trademark Trial and Appeal Board ,
Trademarks ,
USPTO
The Washington Redskins trademark controversy is far from over. Despite the fact that certain news and sports commentators and mainstream newspapers and organizations have announced that they will no longer use the term...more
8/28/2014
/ America Invents Act ,
Blackhorse v Pro-Football ,
Disparagement ,
Fifth Amendment ,
First Amendment ,
Football ,
Lanham Act ,
Popular ,
Redskins ,
Registration ,
Sports ,
Takings Clause ,
Trademarks
The overwhelming public reaction to the US Trademark Trial and Appeal Board’s June 18 decision canceling six REDSKINS trademark registrations on grounds that the mark disparaged Native Americans has been impressive. However,...more
6/20/2014
/ Blackhorse v Pro-Football ,
Disparagement ,
Football ,
Laches ,
Native American Issues ,
NFL ,
Popular ,
Redskins ,
Registration ,
Trademark Act ,
Trademark Trial and Appeal Board ,
Trademarks
A three-judge panel of the US Trademark Trial and Appeal Board (TTAB), for the second time and in a 2-1 decision, has held that the REDSKINS trademark used in connection with professional football and related services by the...more
6/19/2014
/ Blackhorse v Pro-Football ,
Disparagement ,
Football ,
Laches ,
Native American Issues ,
NFL ,
Popular ,
Redskins ,
Registration ,
Trademark Act ,
Trademark Trial and Appeal Board ,
Trademarks