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VIDEO: Heritage Foundation's Benghazi Panelists Mock Muslim Student

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lawhawk6/18/2014 7:01:47 am PDT

That’ll probably force the NFL and Washington team owner to change the team name, though they’ll probably appeal the ruling even though it was the right one (and will likely set precedent for other sports teams around the nation that use similar terms).

Of course, a few are complaining that this is another sign of a bureaucracy run amok. That’s a bogus complaint since the US PTO has rules for trademarking, and that includes a prohibition of terms, phrases, and images that are disparaging. The Trademark Trial and Appeal Board ruled on the case, brought by a Native American against the team’s trademarks, and won.

Allowing the trademark to stand would have undermined the existing regulation prohibiting derogatory trademarks (in other words, allowing a group like the KKK or a white supremacist group to file trademarks and protect their use - like say against the SPLC that goes after these hate groups).