Washington Redskins claim trademark cancellation unconstitutional

In June, a three judge panel, the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office cancelled the team’s six federal trademarks protecting their name, “Redskins.” The judges determined that the term “redskin” violated § 2(a) of the Lanham Act which trademark registrations that “may disparage” groups or individuals.

 

The new lawsuit, filed by the Washington Redskins, argues that the decision should be reversed because § 2 of the Lanham act is rarely used, unconstitutional on its face, and void for vagueness. The team further argues that the board made its decision erroneously, failing to restrict its analysis on the relevant time period. The patents were issued between 1967 and 1990, and, as such, the board was supposed to only consider whether the term “redskin” was disparaging at the time the patent was issued.