About | HeinOnline Law Journal Library | HeinOnline Law Journal Library | HeinOnline
LOG IN
LOG IN

25 Fed. Cir. B.J. 241 (2015-2016)
Beyond "Redskins": A Source-Based Framework for Analyzing Disparaging Trademarks and Native American Sports Logos

handle is hein.journals/fedcb25 and id is 259 raw text is: Beyond Redskins: A Source- Based Framework for Analyzing Disparaging Trademarks and Native American Sports Logos Ingrid Messbauer* Introduction On July 8, 2015, the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia in Pro-Football, Inc. v. Blackhorse' upheld the U.S. Patent and Trademark Of- fice's decision2 to cancel the Washington Redskins3 trademark registrations on the grounds that the term Redskin is disparaging to Native Americans. This decision comes after decades of Native American activism to end the use of Native American imagery, team names, and mascots at all levels of sports, whether professional, collegiate, or junior.' The Pro-Football case re- lies on 15 U.S.C. § 1052(a), which prohibits the registration of trademarks that disparage . . . persons . . . or bring them into contempt or disrepute.' However, in order to find that the term Redskins is disparaging, the court in Pro-Football focuses on proving that the term was a racial slur at the time of registration. It does not address the use of other Native American imagery or other potentially harmful team names such as Chiefs or Braves that * Ingrid Messbauer is a 2016 JD candidate at the George Washington University Law School. No. 1:14-cv-01043-GBL-IDD, 2015 WL 4096277 (D. Va. July 8, 2015). 2 Blackhorse v. Pro-Football, Inc., 111 U.S.P.Q.2d 1080, 2014 WL 2757516 (T.T.A.B. 2014). The Washington Redskins are a professional U.S. football team representing Washington, D.C. in the National Football League. For more information, see WASHINGTON REDSKINS, http://www.redskins.com/index.html (last visited Sept. 9, 2015). 4 See Pro-Football, 2015 WL 4096277, at *35. The Washington Redskins franchise has multiple trademarks, each of which includes the word Redskin or depicts the team's logo, a caricature of a Native American warrior. See id at *1-3. For the purposes of this Article, these marks are similar enough in content and form that they will not be treated individually. ' See Jennifer Guiliano, The Fascination and Frustration with Native American Mascots, THE SOCIETY PAGES (Aug. 20, 2013), http://thesocietypages.org/specials/mascots/. Pro-Football, 2015 WL 4096277, at *21. ' See id. at *23-33.

What Is HeinOnline?

HeinOnline is a subscription-based resource containing thousands of academic and legal journals from inception; complete coverage of government documents such as U.S. Statutes at Large, U.S. Code, Federal Register, Code of Federal Regulations, U.S. Reports, and much more. Documents are image-based, fully searchable PDFs with the authority of print combined with the accessibility of a user-friendly and powerful database. For more information, request a quote or trial for your organization below.



Short-term subscription options include 24 hours, 48 hours, or 1 week to HeinOnline.

Purchase Access

Contact us for annual subscription options:

Contact Us

Already a HeinOnline Subscriber?

Log In

profiles profiles most