ALEXANDRIA, Va. (AP) – A federal judge on Wednesday ordered the cancellation of the Washington Redskins’ trademark registration, ruling that the team name may be disparaging to Native Americans.
The ruling by Judge Gerald Bruce Lee affirms an earlier finding by an administrative appeal board. Bruce ordered the federal Patent and Trademark Office to cancel the registration.
Lee emphasized in his 70-page ruling that the organization is still free to use the name if it wishes – the team would just lose some legal protections that go along with federal registration of a trademark.
The team had sued to overturn a ruling against it by the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board. The team argued that cancellation of its trademark infringed on its free-speech rights because it required the government to judge whether the name is offensive.
The organization can appeal. Calls to team spokesman Tony Wyllie and the lawyers who represented the team in court were not immediately returned.