Bus 630 - Blackhorse V. Pro Football

Ramah Campbell

Professor Long

Bus 630

February 28, 2017

Blackhorse v. Pro Football

A group of five Native Americans, led by Amanda Blackhorse, filed a joint petition at the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office to cancel six federal registrations using trademarks that include the term “Redskins” (“Media Fact Sheet”). Blackhorse claimed that the term “redskins” was derogatory and offensive to Native Americans. The owner of the Washington Redskins felt differently, stating that the name was actually a compliment to Native Americans. Surveys conducted actually showed that the majority of Native Americans did not find the use of the name for purposes of professional football derogatory or offensive (Shapira).  The United States Patent and Trademark Office ruled in favor of Blackhorse and cancelled the team’s trademark registration.

The owner of the Washington Redskins, Dan Snyder, turned around and sued Blackhorse and her joint petitioners. Blackhorse and her joint petitioners filed a motion to have Snyder’s lawsuit thrown out on the grounds that Snyder filed in a courthouse that did not have jurisdiction in the case, stating that the motion should have been filed in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit in Washington (Shapira). The motion also asked for a dismissal on grounds that Snyder could not sue the petitioners because they were not “parties of interest” and did not stand to gain any legal or economic business gain from the case decision (Shapira).  

This is not the first time that the “redskins” trademark has been accused of being negative or disparaging toward Native Americans.  In 1999, after seven years of litigation, the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board, also found the trademark to be disparaging and ordered cancellation of its use (Rantanen).  The Redskins successfully appealed the decision. In February of 2013, the Smithsonian National Museum of American Indian held a symposium entitled "Racist Stereotypes and Cultural Appropriation in American Sports".  Following this symposium, ten members of congress sent letters to Dan Snyder asking that he change the teams name.  Snyder resonded that he would never change the teams name and stated that the teams name was chosen in 1933 to honor Native Americans in general, and the coach who was native American as well as four other Native American team members (“Washington Redskins name controversy,” 2017). Snyder also stated that the the Red Cloud Indian Fund on the Pine Ridge reservation was consulted in the design of the team logo (“Washington Redskins name controversy,” 2017).

Under the Lanham Act, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office is supposed to prevent anyone from registering a trademark that “comprises immoral, deceptive, or scandalous matter; or matter which may disparage or falsely suggest a connection with persons, living or dead, institutions, beliefs, or national symbols, or bring them into contempt, or disrepute” (“15 U.S. Code § 1052 - trademarks registrable on principal register; concurrent registration,” 1947). The USPTO's Trademark Trial and Appeal Board has the final say in determining what is considering “disparaging” or “immoral” (Rottman, Counsel, & Office, 2016).  This is often done through research and reviewing how other people feel about the trademark.  With polls showing that the majority of Native Americans are not offended by the trademark, it will be difficult to have the trademark removed under then Lanham Act.  

As a business owner, I would not want to use a trademark that others found offensive. However, almost everything can be interpreted as offensive to someone. This particular topic hits close to home with me. According to DNA testing, I am 27 percent Native American.  However, I have never identified as Native American. I was unaware that I had such a large percentage of Native American in me, as I was born late in life and never knew my grandparents. My husband is full blooded Native American, was raised by his tribe, and is registered as part of the Waccamaw Siouan Tribe. My daughter is also registered as part of the same tribe. I asked my husband how he felt about the “Redskins” and he stated that he did not feel offended at all over the use of the term or logo. However, I have watched his cousins have a live debate on Facebook over the use of Native American costumes during Halloween and how offended they felt by it. This is just real life proof that the offensiveness of most things, not all things, is open to interpretation. Finding a trademark or logo that does not offend someone somewhere is a difficult task.