The US Patent and Trademark Office announced on Wednesday that it is to cancel six trademark registrations belonging to the Washington Redskins, ruling that the NFL team's name is disparaging to Native Americans.

In a landmark decision, the offices's trademark trial and appeal board found that the name cannot be trademarked under federal law, which prohibits the protection of names that “may disparage” individuals or groups, or “bring them into contempt or disrepute”.



“We decide, based on the evidence properly before us, that these registrations must be cancelled because they were disparaging to Native Americans,” the board wrote in its ruling.

Amanda Blackhorse, who brought the case against the team, called the ruling a "great victory for Native Americans – and for all Americans".



The team said on Wednesday that it would appeal the decision and insisted that its right to protect its trademarks was not affected by the ruling, which would not take effect until the appeals process is complete.

Blackhorse said she hoped the ruling would nevertheless increase the pressure on the NFL team to change its name. "I hope this ruling brings us a step closer to that inevitable day when the name of the Washington football team will be changed," she said.

The controversy has intensified in the last year, even drawing in President Obama. "If I were the owner of the team and I knew that the name of my team, even if they've had a storied history, that was offending a sizable group of people, I'd think about changing it," Obama told the Associated Press.



Despite mounting pressure, however, Washington's owner, Daniel Snyder, has said repeatedly that he will not drop the name. In May, the Washington's president, Bruce Allen, said it was "respectful" to Native Americans, in a letter to Senate majority leader Harry Reid that was sent after dozens of senators called on NFL bosses to force a a change.

Under US law, people who can demonstrate that they have been "injured" by a trademarked term may file a petition to have it canceled. In 2006, a group of five Native Americans, Blackhorse among them, petitioned the appeal board to have the Redskins' registrations canceled on grounds that the term is offensive.



Blackhorse said: "The team’s name is racist and derogatory. I’ve said it before, and I'll say it again – if people wouldn’t dare call a Native American a 'redskin' because they know it is offensive, how can an NFL football team have this name?"

A similar petition was filed in 1992, and in 1999, the appeal board ruled that the term "redskin" was disparaging, ordering the team’s trademark registrations be canceled.



The team, however, appealed the board's decision to the DC circuit court of appeals. It ruled in favour of the NFL team on technical grounds, after determining that the petitioners had waited too long after turning age 18 to file their petitions with the board.

“The evidence in the current claim is virtually identical to the evidence a federal judge decided was insufficient more than ten years ago," said Bob Raskopf, trademark attorney for the Washington team. “We expect the same ultimate outcome here.”

The term Redskins was used in six separate trademarks authorized between 1967 and 1990.

“We are extraordinarily gratified to have prevailed in this case,” attorney Alfred Putnam said in the statement. “The dedication and professionalism of our attorneys and the determination of our clients have resulted in a milestone victory that will serve as a historic precedent.”

If upheld, the decision could have implications for other teams that use Native American names, mascots or logos, including Major League Baseball's Atlanta Braves and Cleveland Indians, as well as several university sports teams.

“This has been a long-running dispute, and it is the second time the [US Patent and Trademark Office] has cancelled the Redskins mark – the first time did not stand up on appeal," said University of Notre Dame law professor Mark McKenna, who specializes in intellectual property, trademark, patent and copyright law.

“For an NFL team, this is of mostly symbolic importance, but it's consistent with a growing public sentiment against the Redskins mark.”

In the last decade, several universities and high schools have opted to stop using Native American names and mascots. In 2012, the University of North Dakota dropped the moniker the Fighting Sioux, and in 2008, Arkansas State retired its official nickname the Indians.



The name of the team's cheerleaders, the Redskinettes was among the six trademarks registrations to be cancelled. Earlier this year, the US Patent and Trademark Office rejected an application to register the trademark of Redskins Hog Rinds.

