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U.S. patent office cancels Redskins trademark registration, says name is disparagingConservatives Only (washingtonpost.com)

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[–]CptQuestionMarkFree Market Monarchist 2 ポイント3 ポイント

I don't think the problem here is the name. The name is denigrating. The problem is is that the government is interfering with private enterprise because it might offend someone. This is a slippery slope. Soon anti abortion corporations or churches may be targeted for being politically incorrect.

[–]malthustreyTanto 7 ポイント8 ポイント

Trademark law has, for decades, said you can't trademark slurs. This isn't a new idea or a new law. As the most of the articles have said the USPTO didn't say that the team couldn't call themselves Redskins, they just can't trademark it. They can continue to be the Redskins but it will just kill sponsorship because anyone can use the name (and color) for free. You can name your team the Washington N-words if you want, you just lose a lot of branding opportunities when you do it.

[–]chabanaisFortis est veritas -2 ポイント-1 ポイント

The problem is is that the government is interfering with private enterprise because it might offend someone.

Agreed.

[–]malthustreyTanto 4 ポイント5 ポイント

You misunderstand how trademark works. Trademark is the government granting you exclusive use of a word or image. The government is going to keep others from using that word or image for your benefit. This ruling just says that the government won't grant exclusivity to this particular racial slur. The team can continue to call themselve the redskins, the government just won't interfere with others who want to use the slur too.

[–]FarsideSCConservative -2 ポイント-1 ポイント

When did Redskin become a slur? What about the Indians? I thought they definitely would have gone after the Indians first.

[–]malthustreyTanto 0 ポイント1 ポイント

I am not a native american so I guess I don't have good metric about which slur is the most offensive. However, the idea that they are going after Redskins specifically is silly. Hundreds of high schools and colleges have been asked to change their names or mascots and have done so. The Redskins are the outlier in defending a patently offensive name. There is literally no race or ethnicity that are referred to by a slang term for their skin color in polite company.

[–]FarsideSCConservative -2 ポイント-1 ポイント

But on the Navajo reservation they use the same names. Not exactly sure how offensive it could be.