And now:Ish <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> writes: 4/2/99 -- 10:11 PM http://www.tampabayonline.net/news/news100d.htm Football team's `Redskins' trademark revoked WASHINGTON (AP) - A three-member federal trademark panel ruled Friday to revoke the Washington Redskins' federal trademark protection, saying the team's name may disparage American Indians or bring them into disrepute. The Trademark Trial and Appeal Board granted a petition filed by seven American Indians in September 1992 to cancel the team's trademark registrations because of a federal law that prohibits registering ``disparaging'' names and logos. In its ruling, the three board members said the derogatory connotation of the word ``redskins'' extends to the football team's name, such that it ``may be disparaging of Native Americans to a substantial composition of this group of people.'' Suzan Shown Harjo, one of the petitioners, said the board's ruling sent a strong message that racial slurs should not be accepted. ``This is one of the last vestiges of overt racism right out in public in America, and it happens on a weekly basis during sports season,'' said Ms. Harjo, who is president of the Morning Star Institute, an American Indian advocacy group. ``This is the worst name you can call Native Americans in the English language.'' The board's decision strips the club and the National Football League's NFL Properties Inc. of federally protected exclusive rights for using and licensing the ``redskins'' name and logos for merchandising. The Redskins said Friday night they will appeal the board's decision to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit here. A lawyer for the Redskins also said the ruling does not affect the team's use of its trademark. ``The club will continue to use it as a team name and license it for logos and merchandising,'' said Redskins attorney John Paul Reiner. ``This decision affects only the registration.'' The football club's registered trademarks include the team name Redskins and its logo - an American Indian's head in profile which appears on the team's helmets. ``The Redskins believe its name honors Native Americans and has for the past 67 years,'' the club said in a statement Friday night. Copyright 1999 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. &&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&& Tsonkwadiyonrat (We are ONE Spirit) Unenh onhwa' Awayaton http://www.tdi.net/ishgooda/ &&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&
