The Washington Redskins name has attracted fierce debate over the years. How do you evaluate whether a mark is too offensive, provocative or in such bad taste that it cannot be federally protected? This article addresses this and other questions at issue in a long running dispute between Native Americans and the Washington DC professional football team known as the "Redskins," where a ruling is expected later this year.
This article was first printed in the May 2013 edition of Intellectual Property magazine. Permission for article reprint has been granted.
Douglas N. Masters is a partner in Loeb & Loeb LLP's Chicago office, where he litigates and counsels clients primarily in the areas of intellectual property, advertising and unfair competition. He is Deputy Chair of the firm's Advanced Media and Technology Department and Co-chair of the firm's Intellectual Property Protection Group.