SCOTUS Asked to Review Redskins Case

Attorneys for the Washington Redskins have asked the Supreme Court to review two cases that could determine the fate of the team’s trademark. The Redskins filed a petition Monday asking the court to review a U.S. District Court ruling in Alexandria, Virginia, that had ordered the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office to cancel the team’s trademark on the grounds that it’s offensive to Native Americans. Though the team has appealed the ruling, lawyers asked the high court to hear the case before a second, similar case involving the band the Slants. The Patent Office rejected Slants’ founder Simon Shao Tam’s application for a trademark because it disparaged Asian Americans. However, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit sided with Tam, finding that part of the 1946 Lanham Act, which regulates trademarks, was an unconstitutional violation of the First Amendment. The Redskins said they’re concerned a quick decision in the Tam case could undermine the team’s arguments to protect its trademark.