The US Patent and Trademark Office ruled yesterday that the Washington Redskins football team’s name is disparaging to Native Americans and cancelled six of the team’s registered trademarks.
In a landmark decision, the office’s trademark trial and appeal board found that the NFL team name cannot be trademarked under federal law, which prohibits the protection of names that “may disparage” individuals or groups, or “bring them into contempt or disrepute”.
“We decide, based on the evidence properly before us, that these registrations must be cancelled because they were disparaging to Native Americans,” the board wrote in its ruling.
Amanda Blackhorse, who brought the case against the team, called the ruling a “great victory for Native Americans – and for all Americans”.
The team said yesterday that it would appeal the decision and insisted that its right to protect its trademarks was not affected by the ruling, which would not take effect until the appeals process is complete.
Ms Blackhorse said she hoped the ruling would nevertheless increase pressure on the NFL team to change its name: “I hope this ruling brings us a step closer to that inevitable day when the name of the Washington football team will be changed.”
The controversy has intensified in the last year, even drawing in President Barack Obama. “If I were the owner of the team and I knew that the name of my team, even if they’ve had a storied history, was offending a sizeable group of people, I’d think about changing it,” Mr Obama said.
The team's owner, Daniel Snyder, however, has said repeatedly that he will not drop the offending name. In May, the team's president, Bruce Allen, said it was "respectful" to Native Americans, in a letter to Senate majority leader Harry Reid that was sent after dozens of senators called on NFL bosses to force a change.
Under US law, people who can demonstrate that they have been “injured” by a trademarked term may file a petition to have it cancelled. Blackhorse said: “The team’s name is racist and derogatory. I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again – if people wouldn’t dare call a Native American a ‘redskin’ because they know it is offensive, how can an NFL football team have this name?” – (Guardian service)