Washington Redskins' Business Unlikely to Suffer from Trademark Loss

On June 18, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office ruled that the Washington Redskins will no longer have the right to trademark their name, saying that the name is “disparaging” to Native Americans. The Redskins are not required to change their name, but will no longer have ownership of it under trademark law. While football team says it will appeal the decision, most point out that the business ramifications could be minimal.

The Redskins name dates back to 1933 and experts say that this decision will have minimal business ramifications. “They didn’t surrender their common law trademark rights,” says Finnegan partner Mark Sommers, a trademark attorney who believes the Redskins will have a strong common law case. “Think of a common law marriage, where long term couples are still subject to alimony and other legalities even if they never legally married. With product names and logos, common law is largely rooted in consumer protection, the idea being that ‘you don’t want the public to be confused as to the origin of the name’.”