The law used by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office to prevent the Washington Redskins from registering trademarks in and relating to the word "Redskins" and the logos used by the team has been ruled unconstitutional by the U.S. Supreme Court. In 2014, the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board revoked six federal trademark registrations belonging to the Washington Redskins, a ruling which was affirmed by a federal judge in 2015. The key issue was a determination surrounding the extent that the First Amendment bars content-based discrimination in the context of granting federal trademark registrations. It offends a bedrock First Amendment principle: Speech may not be banned on the ground that it expresses ideas that offend." As such, it is safe to assume that the Washington Redskins will be able to take up its fight for reinstatement of its own registrations and likely succeed in its efforts.

Source: Forbes June 19, 2017 14:37 UTC