December 1, 2014 Intellectual Property, Copyright, and Trademark / NFL

Redskins Suit Against Native Americans over Trademarks Goes Forward

A federal judge in Virginia decided to hear the Redskins’ suit against a group of Native Americans over the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office’s decision to cancel the Redskins trademark registrations.

In a suit brought by a Native American before the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board (“TTAB”), the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (“USPTO”) decided in June to cancel the Redskins six trademark registrations because the name was “disparaging to Native Americans.” The team filed a federal lawsuit to overturn that decision.

Following the Redskins …

June 29, 2014 MLB

Cleveland Indians Logo Under Attack

The Native American advocacy group, “People Not Mascots,” is threatening the Cleveland Indians with a lawsuit for $9 billion in damages. The group claims that the Cleveland Indians’ logo, Chief Wahoo, is offensive and racist.

According to the group’s leader, Robert Roche, a Chiricahua Apache, the substantial amount of damages is based “on a hundred years of disparity, racism, exploitation, and profiteering.” Roche further stated the logo has “been offensive since day one. We are not mascots. My children are not mascots. We are people.”…