It’s not politically correct to call a Native American a “redskin.” We all know that. However, a bill currently before the House of Representatives would divest Washington D.C.’s football team of their registered and famous trademark. This brings a fight that is currently before the USPTO into the legislative arena. Changing its name could cost the team, which credibly claims it does not intend to offend anyone, $millions in re-branding and merchandising.
The Washington Redskins were originally called the Boston Braves. The team was renamed the “Redskins” on July 8, 1933,, one year after the team formed. Back then, politically correct terminology for minorities was simply not a consideration. At that time, they played at Fenway Park, keeping the park occupied outside of baseball season. The team moved from Boston to their present home in Washington, D.C. in 1938, the year the Washington Redskins were chartered into the NFL.
Since that time, the Redskins have been a top NFL team, their performance doing honor to the great tribes of Native Americans to whom their name refers.
The REDSKINS mark has been used in commerce since 1932; it was re-registered in 1967. An argument that the mark is not “famous” under the Lanham Act’s definition of famous marks would undoubtedly fail.
While I would never call a Native American a “redskin,” just like I would never use a racially derogatory term toward any race, I completely disagree that Congress should be involved in renaming a private enterprise (which the NFL and all of the teams in it are). The Trademark Trial and Appeal Board (TTAB) is reviewing the mark to determine whether it has become so offensive that it no longer qualifies as a mark; Congress should sit this one out and let the TTAB do its job.
