The WaPo’s Del Quentin Wilber reports a U.S. Appeals court has ruled in favor of the Washington Redskins in their ongoing trademark fight with Native American activists who find the team’s logo offensice.
The appeals court backed a ruling last year by U.S. District Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly that an activist had waited too long to challenge the team’s trademarks.
Today’s decision by a three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit was just the latest legal action since the activists first challenged six Redskins’ trademarks in 1992.
The Redskins’ name has never been at stake in the litigation. But if the federal courts had tossed the trademarks, the team would have lost the ability to take action against merchants who used the name on shirts, jackets and other products. The team has argued the name was meant to honor Native Americans.
Redskins attorney Bob Raspkof hailed the ruling as marking “a great day for the Redskins and their fans and their owner Dan Snyder.” Act like you’ve been there before, Bob.