"Redskins Hog Rinds" denied trademark registration due to the term's disparaging meaning.

Possibly foreshadowing the inevitable demise of the Washington Redskins' trademark, the patent office denied registration for a trademark on "Redskins Hog Rinds," saying the term is disparaging to Native Americans. This is not the first time the USPTO denied registration to a mark including the name "Redskins." The USPTO's rationale is based on secondary meaning. Consumers associate "Washington Redskins" with the football team, but consumers would associate "Redskins Hog Rinds" with the racist term, not hog rinds.

On the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board and the "Redskins" mark.

I previously discussed the Washington Redskins' trademark. It is being challenged by a group of Native Americans who find the mark disparaging, offensive and/or scandalous. More than a decade ago, the mark's federal registration was challenged on the same grounds. The reasoning was that the mark is entitled to registration, basically because more people associate the mark with the football team than with its offensive meaning.

This is a good background article to the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board, the group charged with making such decisions. The TTAB oversees petitions opposing and to cancel a trademark, along with interference and concurrent use proceedings. The TTAB does not decide whether a mark can be used or is being infringed; it only determines whether a certain mark is entitled to federal registration.

More on "Redskins" trademark cancellation proceeding.

This is a pretty good link for additional information on the dispute regarding potential cancellation of the "Redskins" federal trademark registration. I have discussed it before, but this provides good supplemental information.

The "Redskins" mark should not be entitled to federal trademark protection.

On Thursday, the legitimacy of the Washington Redskins' trademark was argued in the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board (TTAB) at the United States Patent and Trademark Office. At issue was whether "Redskins" is entitled to federal trademark protection. The court has not decided and likely will not decide for some time.

In 1999, the TTAB heard the same issue. In that case, the court determined that if a substantial composite of the general population associated the mark with something other than its racist connotation, then the mark is capable of federal trademark registration. The court found that continuous use, recognition and acceptance of "Redskins" in connection with the football team outweighed the racist meaning of the word.

The last sentence of that decision noted that the Redskins' trademark will be cancelled at some point in the future. The court recognized that society inexorably becomes more sensitive over time.

In the 1999 decision, the court essentially said that because the "Redskins" mark is more identifiable with the football team than as a derogatory ethnic term, it is acceptable. Following this logic, any term used long enough as a football nickname would be entitled to federal trademark protection, no matter how offensive it is. "Redskins" was first used in the 1930s. There were a lot of derogatory words used in the 1930s that are no longer acceptable today. Imagine a team named the [insert slur referring to African Americans], or the [insert slur referring to Irish people], or the [insert slur referring to Catholics], or the [insert slur referring to Asians], or the [insert slur referring to Jewish people]. Following the court's reasoning, any of those nicknames would still be registered with the trademark office today, based on the Washington football team's continuous use of the "Redskins" mark.

The court's reasoning in 1999 was bad. A lot of words from the 1930s are not acceptable in society today. Simply because Washington's football team has used the name continuously does not mean it is any less offensive.

If the TTAB determines that "Redskins" is no longer entitled to federal trademark registration, it does not mean the team would automatically change their name. It means that they would no longer be entitled to federal trademark protection. They would still have common law rights. They would still have customer recognition among fans. But they would likely change their name, in order to protect their intellectual property going forward.