Redskins: Trademark Cancellation Worse than Initial Denial

The Washington Redskins are entangled in a trademark battle over its name and is urging the Supreme Court to hear its case. The football team disagrees about the offensiveness of the name and contests the constitutionality of Section 2 (a) of the Lanham Act which bans trademarks that are “disparaging.” Under the act, the government cancelled the Redskins trademarks after 23 years.

The Lanham Act was also the basis for the government’s refusal to register the trademark of the Asian-American rock band the “Slants.” However, …

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Federal Government Urges Against SCOTUS Review in Redskins Case

The federal government is urging against the Washington Redskins’ request for their high profile trademark case, Pro Football Inc. v. Blackhorse, to be heard by the U.S. Supreme Court before a ruling by a federal appeals court. The government claims the Redskins have no justification for the move, as the Supreme Court rarely grants certiorari in a case that has not been heard first by a federal appeals court.

The Redskins are claiming the timing is perfect for their case to move to the …

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NCAA Appeals Fee Bond, Argues Detriment to Mission

On Tuesday, May, 10, 2016, the NCAA appealed to the Ninth Circuit, arguing that it was unnecessary to reserve more than $42 million in attorneys’ fees and costs associated with the appeal in the O’Bannon case. Initially, the judge ordered that the NCAA pay plaintiffs’ attorneys for the college athletes’ name, image, and likeness class action suit a total of $44.4 million in fees and $1.5 million in costs, but the fees were later reduced $40.8 million.

The NCAA claims that the players’ attorneys are …

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