A federal district judge has ruled against the Washington Redskins in a trademark dispute, referring to a recent Supreme Court case about confederate-flag license plates and a famous Allen Iverson rant along the way.
The defendants in the case are hoping the loss of federal trademark protections will put financial pressure on the NFL team to change its controversial nickname, by making it difficult to control the use of logos for commercial use.
In the United District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia, Judge Gerald Bruce Lee said in a 70-page decision that the United States Patent and Trademark Office had the ability to cancel the federal registration of six Washington team trademarks that use words or images invoking the Redskins name.
Judge Lee also ruled against constitutional arguments made by Pro Football Inc., the plaintiff, saying the federal trademark program doesn’t violate the First Amendment because it is protected government speech. Lee also dismissed Firth Amendment claims made by Pro Football Inc.
Link: Read The Opinion
Back in June 2014, the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board ruled that the Redskins moniker was “disparaging of Native Americans” and ordered the cancellation of the team’s federal trademarks for the term, under the Lanham Act. The case was then sent to Judge Lee after a countersuit.
Judge Lee on Wednesday also quoted former NBA star Allen Iverson to make a point about the difference between the trademark registration process and the actual trademarks.
“Just as Allen Iverson once reminded the media they were wasting their time at the end of the Philadelphia 76ers season ‘talking about practice,’ and not an actual professional basketball game, the Court is compelled to highlight what is at issue in this case – trademark registration and not the trademarks themselves,” said Lee. (Judge Lee also included a link to the famous Iverson video on YouTube.)
Judge Lee also cited the recent Supreme Court Confederate License plate decision, Walker v. Sons of Confederate Veterans, as a factor in his decision.
“The Court finds that the federal trademark registration program is government speech under the Supreme Court’s decision in Walker,” said Lee. In that case, the Texas Motor Vehicle Board declined to allow vanity license plates featuring the Confederate flag on the grounds that the Motor Vehicle Board could decline messages it thought might be offensive to any member of the public. Lee said that the federal trademark program and its powers to deny registrations fell under the Supreme Court’s three-part ruling in Walker.
He also agreed that the defendants had submitted enough evidence that the trademarks themselves “may disparage” a substantial number of Native Americans during the time period at issue in the case, from 1967 to 1990.
Lee concluded by stating that his decision didn’t bar the Washington team from using the Redskins marks in commerce or prevent fans from wearing or displaying Redskins symbols.
“Courts do not create trademarks; only businesses like PFI control their own destiny with respect to how the public discerns the source and origins of PFI’s goods and services,” Lee said.
Federal trademark law has banned the registration of “scandalous or immoral” marks since 1905. Almost half a century later, the Patent Office added marks that “disparage, bring into contempt or disrepute persons, institutions, beliefs, or national symbols.”
A team spokesperson told the Washington Post said the club is reading the decision and considering its legal options. It is expected the team will appeal.
Scott Bomboy is the editor in chief of the National Constitution Center.
