The Washington Redskins’ ongoing name controversy may be headed to the Supreme Court. The NFL team, which conducts business under the name Pro-Football Inc., filed a petition on Monday (April 25).
The NFL franchise located in Washington D.C., whose name and logo has been deemed by some as derogatory and offensive for decades, were told by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office in June 2014 that the team could not trademark its name. The reason being, according to CNN, that the federal law prohibits the registration of anything “scandalous, immoral, or disparaging.”
Losing the trademark protection would allow anyone to sell merchandise with the franchise’s name or logo without compensating the league.
However, in December, the team saw another chance when, in a separate case, a federal appeals court ruled in favor of The Slants, an Asian-American rock group that wants to trademark their name. That case challenges the same federal decree that the Redskins’ case does. In the petition filed in court, the Redskins requested that their case be heard along with the band case.
Redskins team owner, Daniel Snyder has insisted the name is not offensive to Native Americans, although many Native American groups and organizations have fought the trademark in court. Several politicians, including Obama, have insisted the team change its name.
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