What does the decision mean in the short term?
Raskopf: “Our registration is still valid, was not canceled, would not be canceled until such time as the case was over. Last time, it was 11 years from the date of the trademark decision that the case finally ended in favor of the Washington Redskins, and we anticipate that the same will occur here, hopefully on a more accelerated timetable.”
[snip]
Would the Redskins be damaged if they lose the federal registrations?
Raskopf: “We’ve looked at that. We think there would be additional costs, for sure, if we lost the registrations. Enforcement issues would become difficult, just because more people would come out of the woodwork to challenge you, perhaps not recognizing how strong our common law rights are. We have our registrations, but then we also have our common law rights. We have one of the most valuable brands in sports, so there’s enormous underlying value.”
[snip]
Update: Later, Raskopf appeared with the Junkies on 106.7 The Fan. He answered many of the same questions, but was also asked whether he would refer to a Native American as a Redskin.
“That’s not what this case is about. It’s what OUR word means,” he said. “It’s how you use it, it’s not whether you use it. You need to put the word in context. Once you get the context, this case falls apart in two seconds for them. And that’s where we’re standing. We’re standing on that ground….It may or may not be used disparagingly, just like many other terms can. So we don’t really think there’s much to that claim…..We, the Washington Redskins, have made something honorable and successful and imbued that into this brand. There’s no way that anybody can say we use that mark disparagingly. It’s a mark. That’s what trademark law’s all about.”
