An activist federal judge in D.C. has now upheld the cancellation of trademark protection for the Washington Redskins meaning that the team’s name is no longer protected by law and they cannot stop just anyone else from using the name.
Federal Judge Gerald Bruce Lee upheld last year’s administrative appeal board’s decision to cancel the team’s legal protection claiming that the name is racist.
In his 70-page ruling, Lee emphasized that the organization is still free to use the name if it wishes–the team would just lose some legal protections that go along with federal registration of a trademark.
The team had sued to overturn a ruling against it by the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board. The team argued that cancellation of its trademark infringed on its free-speech rights because it required the government to judge whether the name is offensive.
The Redskins can still appeal the decision.