Forum Overview :: Motherfucking News

Cancelling the Redskins trademark by Commander Tansin A. Darcos 06/18/2014, 8:43pm PDT The news programs have reported that the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office Appeals Board has ruled the Washington Redskins Football Team's trademark on the term "Redskins" and the redskins logo is considered racist and ordered the registration cancelled. This does not mean the Redskins can't continue to use the mark, it just means that - if the decision survived appeal - anyone could make Redskins memorabilia such as jerseys and flags, using the name and the symbol without having to get permission or pay royalties. Just like you can't make Coca-Cols memorabilia such as glasses, mugs or other things without approval of The Coca-Cola Company in Atlanta. Cancellation of their registration would deny the Redskins the power to do this. When I heard that the PTO Appeals Board had done this, I was thinking that they don't have the authority to cancel this mark on those grounds for a number of reasons, the first being a technical issue called "incontestability." The Redskins have been using the mark since the 1940s, and federally registered it in 1967. Federal law (15 USC 1065) provides (subject to certain technical requirements) after continuous use of a registered mark for twenty years, the mark becomes "incontestable," in which the mark cannot be challenged and the mark's owner has a permanent right to continue to use the mark. There is also a provision in law called "laches" which is legalese for "you snooze, you lose." Generally, a challenge of this type should have happened during the first 20 years of the mark's registration, and further, it seems odd that the mark was perfectly okay for registration from 1967 to the first renewal in 1987 and the second renewal in 2007. The Redskins organization is, obviously going to appeal, and this mess could take years. Actually, the PTO Appeals Board tried this a few years ago and the appeals court overturned the decision.

Cancelling the Redskins trademark by Commander Tansin A. Darcos 06/18/2014, 8:43pm PDT