And now:Ish <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> writes:
Redskins Are Denied Trademarks
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/sports/redskins/daily/april99/03/patent
s3.htm
By Brooke A. Masters
Washington Post Staff Writer
Saturday, April 3, 1999; Page A1
The Washington Redskins have no right to
trademark their nickname because it is
disparaging to Native Americans, a
three-judge panel of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office
ruled yesterday.
In a decision that gave nearly total victory to a group of
Native Americans who filed a complaint in 1992, the board
ordered the cancellation of federal registrations for seven
Redskin trademarks, including the team's name and the
helmet logo showing an Indian's head in profile.
The 145-page ruling does not prevent the team from
continuing to use the Redskins name and the related logos.
But it could jeopardize the millions of dollars in revenue that
all National Football League teams reap from the sale of
Redskins merchandise because the team would no longer be
able to use federal law to prevent others from putting the
logos on items such as T-shirts, caps and pennants.
The board's decision will not take effect until the Redskins
have had a chance to appeal.
"This is fabulous," said lead plaintiff Suzan Shown Harjo, a
District resident and member of the Cheyenne tribe. "I never
expected to see justice done in my lifetime. . .�. This is an
absolutely mighty landmark [of] societal change that we are
watching."
The Redskins have no plans to change the team's name, and
they will appeal the decision to the U.S. Court of Appeals for
the Federal Circuit, said the team's attorney, John Paul
Reiner. The team also plans to use state patent law to protect
the logos and name from infringement, he said.
"We regret the opinion, and we think it's wrong," Reiner said.
"We are going to continue to protect the marks vigorously."
National Football League spokesman Greg Aiello declined to
comment on the decision.
Though Native American groups have long protested names
and symbols they find offensive-including the Cleveland
Indians' logo and the tomahawk chop used by Atlanta Braves
fans-this marks the first time that a federal agency has come
down on their side.
On the state level, the Utah Supreme Court ruled this year in
a case involving complaints by Native Americans about
several license plates that bore variations on the word
"redskin." A state agency had rejected the challenge, but the
Supreme Court ordered the agency to reconsider.
A 1946 federal trademark law says names cannot be
protected if they are "disparaging, scandalous, contemptuous
or disreputable." <<END EXCERPT
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Tsonkwadiyonrat (We are ONE Spirit)
Unenh onhwa' Awayaton
http://www.tdi.net/ishgooda/
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