WASHINGTON (AP) — Five Native Americans are asking a Virginia judge to dismiss a lawsuit the Washington Redskins filed after the group successfully challenged the team’s name, arguing it is offensive.
Lawyers for both sides were expected in federal court in Alexandria on Friday, where a judge was scheduled to hear arguments on whether the lawsuit should be thrown out.
The five won a victory earlier this year when a U.S. Patent and Trademark Office board ruled that six trademark registrations on the team’s name should be canceled because they were “disparaging to Native Americans” when registered. The board acted after the group of Native Americans petitioned it to cancel the trademark registrations.
After the board’s action, the team in August sued the five Native Americans, asking a federal court to stop the cancellation from happening.
The team, which has used Redskins as part of its name since 1933, says in court papers that the patent office board was wrong and that its trademarks are proper because the term was not offensive when the trademarks were registered. The team says canceling the trademarks, which were registered between 1967 and 1990, would violate the Constitution.
Lawyers for the five Native Americans argue that the Redskins’ lawsuit against them should be dismissed because the team’s real dispute is with the patent office.
But the Redskins argue the lawsuit is an appropriate, and even preferred, method of appealing the board’s decision. The team says the group of Native Americans is a proper target because it filed the petition that initiated the board’s action and have an interest in the outcome.
The team’s trademark protection remains in place while the issue makes its way through the courts. If the ruling ultimately stands, the team will still be able to use the name, but it would be tougher for it to go after others who use it without permission on clothing or other gear.
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I can’t be the only one irritated by the paid Redskins advertisements that keep popping up in the cartoon bikini model’s box from that “free” 3D imaging company.
So we are going to sue you for being offended that we are a bunch of racists. This just looks horrible Redskins, and does not help your cause.
I don’t understand. What is the Washington Football Team asking for in the lawsuit against these five people? How is it supposed to get them their trademark protection back?
Sounds like simple harassment to me.
While there may be some good legal reason for the suit, which is beyond my understanding of these things, the owner is notoriously thin-skinned and impulsive, and sued a local newspaper that published an article which merely put all the negative reporting and legal issues associated with this owner in a single article. At the time of the suit, the team ominously suggested that the publication, the City Paper, would not be able to compete with the team’s deep pockets.
Self-interest (the man had some ancient trees illegally cut down to improve the view from his house!) is the only thing that seems to drive him, and money and intimidation are the tools he uses to advance that self-interest. He’s known for being petty, and this fits right in with that. He no doubt hopes to harass these folks into submission. I doubt it will work, but he probably figures a little revenge is worth it. Meanwhile, his team is a disaster on the field.
This is nothing more than identifying the parties for an appeal of the Patent and Trademark Board’s decision. Most successful litigants would expect and demand party status on the appeal. How better to defend your win.
My question is why do the Native Americans object? Do they lack the money needed to defend the appeal? Are they afraid they are going to be smacked with the costs if the Snyder Football Team wins? Those are the questions a reporter might have asked.