The NFL team from our nation’s capital continues to fight to trademark its mascot’s name.
BY JACOB PALMER | DIGITAL NEWS EDITOR
The NFL team from our nation’s capital continues to fight to trademark its mascot’s name.
In its fight with the federal government, it has named a band from Portland.
According to The Washington Post, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit in Washington state said banning offensive trademarks violates the First Amendment. The decision came in a case involving an Asian-American rock band that sought a trademark for its provocative name, the Slants. The band said in court filings it chose the name to undercut slurs about Asian-Americans, not to promote them, according to The New York Times.
The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office had previously rejected a trademark for the Oregon band because it considered its name a slur. But the 12-judge court ruled Tuesday that the First Amendment protects the musicians’ speech — as well as “the speech of other trademark holders” — no matter how disparaging, according to reports.
(READ MORE: Portland Business Journal)
Do you think the Washington team deserved to lose its trademark?
