It Likely Won't Be Long Before Washington's NFL Team Changes Name

No, it likely will not be long before Washington's NFL team changes names, even though their current owner, Dan Snyder, insists it will not happen, because the name is part of a proud tradition.

The US Patent Office ruled that the name is offensive, and so it cancelled the ability of the team to trademark the name. There is a good chance that this will cost the team some money, and it probably will get the desired attention that activists have been looking for: hitting the team, and the league, where it hurts the most: in the wallet.

Here is how it happened (these following paragraphs are from Tony Manfred's article in the Business Insider - see link below):

Five Native Americans petitioned the office to cancel six trademarks filed between 1967 and 1990. Under federal law, trademarks cannot be " may  disparage persons or bring them into contempt or disrepute" cannot be registered.

Specifically, this is what the US Patent Office had to say:

"We decide, based on the evidence properly before us, that these registrations must be cancelled because they were disparaging to Native Americans at the respective times they were registered, in violation of Section 2(a)  of the Trademark Act of 1946, 15 U.S.C. § 1052(a)."

They further clarified the point by saying that Washington's name is "disparaging when it is used in connection with professional football. While this may reveal differing opinions within the community, it does not negate the opinions of those who find it disparaging."

I've said this before, and will say it again: the name change is happening. It is not a question of if, but when. Now, it seems that is truer than ever, and that Dan Snyder might not even be able to prevent the name change, if these kinds of things keep happening.

Officials from Washington's NFL team say that they will appeal the decision.

All of the quotes above (in yellow) were taken from the following article, which you can access by clicking on the link below:




US Patent Office Rules Redskins Name Is Offensive, Cancels Trademarks Business Insider By Tony Manfred June 18, 2014:

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/us-patent-office-rules-redskins-140838307.html