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While the justices refused to hear the team's appeal, the
issues it raises are part of another case that the court last
week agreed to hear involving the Oregon-based Asian-American
rock band The Slants whose bid for trademark protection of its
name was denied by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.
Both the band and the team have argued that a 1946 federal law
barring trademarks on racial slurs violates free speech rights
under the U.S. Constitution's First Amendment.
The Supreme Court opted not to hear the Redskins' appeal of a
federal judge's ruling in July 2015 that upheld the Patent and
Trademark Office's 2014 decision to cancel six trademarks held
by the team and provided another victory for Native American
activists pressing the franchise to change its name.
The team appealed that ruling to the Richmond, Virginia-based
4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, but had asked the Supreme
Court to hear the case even before the 4th Circuit had a chance
to rule.
The Slants had sought to trademark the band's name despite the
term "slant eye" historically being used as a racial slur
against people of Asian descent. A Patent and Trademark Office
tribunal relied on a provision of the 1946 Lanham Act that
prevents the registration of marks that may disparage certain
people.
If the band wins its case before the high court, which will hear
the case in its current term and rule by the end of June, that
decision would also hand a victory to the Redskins. The band won
at the federal appeals court level and the Obama administration
asked the Supreme Court to review that decision.
Even if the band loses, the Redskins still could pursue their
challenge and potentially prevail because the team's arguments
differ in some regards.
Federal trademarks can help protect trademarks nationwide in
court and block the import and sale of counterfeit goods.
The agency canceled the team's trademarks at the request of
Native American activists on the grounds that the team name
disparaged Native Americans.
The Washington football team, one of the NFL's marquee
franchises worth an estimated $2.4 billion, adopted the name
Redskins in 1933 when it played in Boston before moving to
Washington in 1937, and first trademarked the name in 1967.
The team said it has invested tens of millions of dollars
building its brand around its name, and losing trademark
protection would be "immensely burdensome and costly."
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