And now:Ish <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> writes: link provided by Robert Eurich Indians could strike out http://www.ohio.com/bj/business/docs/022431.htm Ruling that undermines NFL's Redskins' name, logo may lead to same for Cleveland baseball club BY DAVID ADAMS Beacon Journal business writer Watch out, Wahoo. With the Washington Red**ins' name and logo under attack by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, could the Cleveland's Indians' name and toothy Chief Wahoo mascot be far behind? On Friday, the government agency responsible for policing exclusive rights basically stripped the National Football League team of its exclusive right to use the name and logo because it is derogatory to Native Americans. While the ruling does not prevent the Red**ins from using the name or logo, it would allow anyone else to use it at no cost. The ultimate effect of the ruling is unclear. It is not known whether the ruling extends to the names and logos of other sports teams such as the Indians, the Chicago Blackhawks, the Atlanta Braves or the Kansas City Chiefs. Also, the Red**ins' legal team said they are likely to appeal the ruling. But the prospect of open season on Native American names and logos is scary news to investors who own stock in the publicly traded Cleveland Indians. The team's widely recognized name and mascot are known around the world. Last year, the team made $1.5 million from the sale of licensed merchandise, and about $15 million in revenue from sales at its team shops in Summit Mall, Belden Village, Jacobs Field and the Galleria in downtown Cleveland. The team's exclusive license requires companies that use the Indians' trademarks in any way to pay a portion of their revenue to Major League Baseball and, indirectly, the Indians. Team spokesman Robert DiBiasio said yesterday that the team was studying the Patent and Trademark Office's ruling, and had n o comment. Trademark officials also declined to comment. But the agency's ruling -- while scary for Indians investors -- is a relief for Cleveland-based Native American groups who have petitioned -- even protested -- for years against continued use of the Indians' name and logo. Robert Roche of the American Indian Movement said the ruling gives momentum and exposure to his group's fight. He said it shows that he and others are not alone when they say that the use of the name and logo is demeaning. ``We're not mascots. We're a race of people,'' said Roche, of Cleveland. ``If you have a (team named the) Cleveland African- Americans with a mascot with a bone in the nose, or a (team named the) Cleveland Jews with a mascot wearing a yarmulke, you'd have a war up here.'' The ruling should be precedential, according to Juan Reyna, chairman of the Cleveland-based Committee of 500 years of Dignity and Resistance. ``If that ruling is against the Red**ins, I don't see how it wouldn't apply to the Indians, the Braves, the Chiefs and the Blackhawks,'' said Reyna, of Cleveland. ``It's about time the consciousness of this country has woken up to include indigenous people who have the right not to be humiliated and degraded.'' That push for sensitivity in sports team names and mascots is working, at least on the college sports level. Recently, Miami University changed its name from the Red**ins to the RedHawks, and St. John's University changed its name from the Redmen to the Red Storm. The U.S. Patent and Trademark office in Washington said the use of the Red**ins name and logo was derogatory. The office brushed aside counterclaims by the team that people who used ``Red**ins'' were referring only to the football team. Native American groups that filed the complaint alleged that the word ``Red**ins'' ``has been and is used with connotations of violence, savagery, and oppression; and that the usage suggests a power relationship . . . connecting Indians with savagery.'' The team argued that no disparagement was intended, and that its use ``reflected positive attributes of the American Indian such as dedication, courage and pride, such as its use on the nickel.'' The team was originally located in Boston and known as the Boston Braves. In 1933 the team was renamed the Boston Redskins. When the team moved to Washington , D.C., in 1937, it was renamed the Washington Red**ins. In perhaps the most significant aspect of the Red**ins case for the Cleveland Indians, expert testimony showed that many Native Americans felt more strongly against ``Redskins'' than they did against ``Indians.'' Forty-six percent of those surveyed said they found ``Red**ins'' offensive, while more than 7 percent found ``Indians'' offensive. The Cleveland team has claimed the team name is meant to honor Louis Sockalexis, the first Native American major-leaguer, who played for the Cleveland Spiders in the 1890s. And while the team has lain low during the sporadic complaints directed at its name and mascot, majority owner Richard Jacobs has said the team intends to keep the two. The Indians' merchandise is among the most popular in all of Major League Baseball, ranking behind the New York Yankees. Money made from the sale of licensed merchandise is collected by Major League Baseball Properties, and then redistributed evenly among all major-league teams. &&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&& Tsonkwadiyonrat (We are ONE Spirit) Unenh onhwa' Awayaton http://www.tdi.net/ishgooda/ &&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&
