The REDSKINS Decision: Much Ado About (Probably) Not Much

I've been having fun listening to commentators – most of whom appear to know little or nothing about trademark law – expound on last week's decision by the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board to cancel six trademark registrations for variations of the word REDSKINS as the name of Washington, D.C.'s pro football team. One observer described it as a "landmark" decision, and several have prophesied that it marks "the beginning of the end" of the team's controversial nickname. The decision may turn out to have significant impact on the team politically and in terms of public relations. But legally...not so much.

Into the Time Machine

Many of the "beginning of the end" analyses treat the TTAB decision as a referendum on current public opinion about the Redskins name issue. A spokesman for the National Congress of American Indians, which supported the plaintiffs, said, "I don't know how the team doesn't recognize at this point that it's not just a small group of Indians