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United States Patent and Trademark Office › Football

The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office is an agency of the United States Department of Commerce that serves a fundamental role in the U.S. intellectual property system by issuing patents and registering trademarks.... more +
The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office is an agency of the United States Department of Commerce that serves a fundamental role in the U.S. intellectual property system by issuing patents and registering trademarks.    less -
Fox Rothschild LLP

When Football & TMs Don’t Mix

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Anyone who’s followed this blog knows that I’ve done a few (really more than a few) posts about the evolution of the Washington football team’s trademark battles. As a reminder, after ultimately winning its trademark fight to...more

Rivkin Radler LLP

A (Potential) Hog Wild Trademark Dispute

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The phrase “waiting all day for Sunday night” is usually associated with football. But this Sunday, it may be associated with something entirely different — a potential trademark dispute. After years of fighting over its...more

Foley & Lardner LLP

The Washington TBDs: Has a Trademark Hog Muddied the Washington Football Team’s Name Change Plans?

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After decades of mounting pressure from Native American groups, fans, activists and even corporate sponsors, the NFL’s Washington Redskins recently announced that it would be changing its team name and logo after 87 years of...more

Proskauer Rose LLP

Three Point Shot - October 2019

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Welcome to Three Point Shot, a newsletter brought to you by the Sports Law Group at Proskauer. Three Point Shot brings you the latest in sports law-related news and provides you with links to related materials. Your feedback,...more

CMCP - California Minority Counsel Program

In Matal V. Tam, Scotus Rules Prohibition On Disparaging Trademarks Unconstitutional

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The Asian American members of the band the Slants adopted that name to “reclaim” and “take ownership” of the derogatory term. The United States Patent and Trademark Office (“USPTO”) refused to register a trademark application...more

Weintraub Tobin

The First Amendment Protects The Trademark Registrability Of THE SLANTS And THE WASHINGTON REDSKINS Irrespective Of Political...

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In 2014, the Washington Redskins lost a battle before the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board (“TTAB”) where the petitioner, a group of Native American activists, sought cancellation of the “Washington Redskins” trademark, which...more

Kramer Levin Naftalis & Frankel LLP

If You Have Nothing Nice to Say, Say ®

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On June 19, the Supreme Court struck down as unconstitutional a provision of the Lanham Act prohibiting federal registration of disparaging trademarks. The Court’s ruling in Matal v. Tam, 582 U.S. ___, No. 15-1298 (June 19,...more

Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP

Brands that Bite - The Supreme Court unanimously rules that the First Amendment forbids the Trademark Office from refusing to...

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By striking down the “disparagement clause,” a 70-year-old provision of federal trademark law, the Supreme Court’s ruling this week in Matal v. Tam has the potential to change the ways in which people conceive, market,...more

Lewitt Hackman

Disparaging, Degrading, Derogatory Trademarks: They're Now Enforceable Says Supreme Court

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You may remember that several national sports franchises are under fire for trademarks and branding that is seen to be racially disparaging. The Washington Redskins are the first team to come to mind, and it wasn’t too long...more

Jones Day

Siding with The Slants: Ban on Disparaging Marks Held Unconstitutional

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Asian rock band The Slants is no longer "The Band Who Must Not Be Named," as they titled their most recent album. On June 19, 2017, the United States Supreme Court decided Matal v. Tam, striking a provision of the Lanham Act,...more

Bass, Berry & Sims PLC

Supreme Court Holds that First Amendment Protects Disparaging Trademarks

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This week, the U.S. Supreme Court emphasized the importance of broad free speech protection in striking down a statute that allows the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) to refuse registration of disparaging trademarks....more

Fenwick & West LLP

Supreme Court Rocks the Trademark Office in “Slants” Case

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After a streak of six patent decisions uniformly overruling the Federal Circuit, and for the first time all term, the Supreme Court finally handed the Federal Circuit a win this week. In its landmark ruling in Matal v. Tam...more

Bradley Arant Boult Cummings LLP

In Victory for The Slants, U.S. Supreme Court Strikes Lanham Act’s Disparagement Clause

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In Matal v. Tam, the United States Supreme Court struck a provision of the Lanham Act that has been used to deny federal registration of trademarks deemed disparaging to “persons, . . . institutions, beliefs, or national...more

Akerman LLP - Marks, Works & Secrets

Supreme Court: Disparaging Speech Protected By First Amendment Lanham Section 2(a) Unconstitutional: A Win for the Slants and the...

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In a unanimous (albeit fractured) decision written by Justice Alito, the United States Supreme struck down a provision of the Lanham (Trademark) Act barring registration of “disparaging” trademarks, handing a victory to...more

Mintz - Trademark & Copyright Viewpoints

Matal v. Tam: U.S. Supreme Court Holds Prohibition on Disparaging Trademarks Unconstitutional under First Amendment

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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

Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe LLP

Even Disparaging Trademarks are Registerable

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The Supreme Court recently ruled 8-0 that the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (“USPTO”) can no longer refuse to register trademarks because it deems them “disparaging” pursuant to a section of the federal trademark statute. ...more

Jackson Walker

Upon Further Review: Supreme Court Ruling Means “Redskins” Trademark Registrations Are Still In Play

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This week the U.S. Supreme Court held the “disparagement clause” – a federal trademark provision that prohibits the registration of a trademark “which may disparage” . . . persons, . . . , institutions, . . . beliefs, or...more

Sherman & Howard L.L.C.

Intellectual Property Update: High Court Rules That Trademark Registration May Not Be Denied Due To Offensiveness

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In an 8-0 ruling, the U.S. Supreme Court this week struck down a provision of the federal Lanham Act prohibiting the registration of trademarks that may “disparage . . . or bring . . . into contemp[t] or disrepute” any...more

Sterne, Kessler, Goldstein & Fox P.L.L.C.

What's Happening with the Redskins Case?

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For the past few years, the first question us trademark lawyers get asked at cocktail parties is, “What’s going to happen to the REDSKINS trademark?” – and now lawyers and football enthusiasts will have to wait until at least...more

Akerman LLP - Marks, Works & Secrets

Supreme Court Rejects Effort By Redskins to Join Slants

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The Supreme Court rejected the effort by the Washington Redskins to skip the 4th Circuit and Join the hearing of the USPTO appeal of the SLANTS case....more

Akerman LLP - Marks, Works & Secrets

Supreme Court Grants Cert. in USPTO Appeal of Slants Decision: Whether The Ban On Offensive Trademarks Violates The First...

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The Supreme Court granted the United States Patent and Trademark Office’s petition for certiorari in In re Tam, 117 USPQ2d 1101 (Fed. Cir. 2016). In that case, the USPTO denied registration of an application to register the...more

Akerman LLP - Marks, Works & Secrets

In re Tam Redux Redux: Redskins Petition for Certiorari, Trying to Skip 4th Cir.

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In response to the United States Patent and Trademark Office’s (“USPTO”) petition for writ of certiorari in to the U.S. Supreme Court In re Tam (“THE SLANTS” case), the owners of the Washington Redskins filed their own...more

Pierce Atwood LLP

Federal Circuit Decision Signals Game Not Over for Washington Redskins Trademark

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In a decision that should bring some comfort to the fans of the Washington Redskins football team, the U.S Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit in In Re Simon Shiao Tam declared unconstitutional Section 2(a) of the Lanham...more

Sands Anderson PC

Redskins Trademarks – Answers to Key Questions Regarding Recent Ruling

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Last week, the U.S. District Court sitting in Alexandria, Virginia granted what would appear to be a sweeping victory to a group of five Native Americans who have renewed attempts to cancel the federal registrations of...more

Mintz - Trademark & Copyright Viewpoints

The US Department of Justice Seeks to Intervene in the Washington Redskins’ Trademark Suit to Defend the Constitutionality of the...

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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

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