In the latest salvo in a long-running war with the Washington Redskins, a group of Native American activists has filed a complaint with the Patent Trademark Office (PTO) seeking cancellation of the registered mark on the grounds that it is offensive. The petitioners argue that the term "Redskin" "was and is a pejorative, derogatory, denigrating, offensive, scandalous, contemptuous, disreputable, disparaging, and racist designation for a Native American person." A similar complaint was ultimately rejected by a federal court in Pro Football, Inc. v. Harjo, 284 F.Supp.2d 96 (D.D.C. 2003).
However, this time around, as WSJ Law Blogger Peter Lattman explains, the plaintiffs have an interesting strategy. The court in the previous case found that
laches (essentially, a statute of limitations) barred the Native Americans’ claim because the Redskins had registered their trademark way back in 1967. The Native Americans then appealed to the D.C. Circuit, which issued an opinion last year declining to rule on disparagement but asking the trial court to reconsider the laches issue.
So how do the new petitioners get around the laches issue? They’re young, ranging in age from 18 to 24, so their claim isn’t stale.
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