General Discussion
Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsWhat’s Wrong with the Redskins
The Supreme Court will likely consider the question of whether the government is permitted, under the First Amendment, to deny registration of disparaging trademarks, as it did with the Washington Redskins, in 2014.
In this country we dont ban Mein Kampf, Ku Klux Klan screeds, or objectionable terms for racial groups. It is clear that the government cannot disallow offensive or hateful speech. But the federal trademark law, known as the Lanham Act, has since 1946 barred the registration of marks that may disparage persons, living or dead, institutions, beliefs, or national symbols, or bring them into contempt, or disrepute. In 2014, after nearly half a century of registering and renewing The Redskins, the government cancelled the football teams trademark registrations, on the grounds that the name may be disparaging to Native Americans. The cancellation does not ban the teams use of the name. Instead, it does away with the legal presumption that the team has the exclusive right to use the name in commerce, thus providing a substantial incentive for the Redskinsand other groupsto avoid using a name that may be considered offensive.
The Supreme Court will likely consider the question of whether the government is permitted, under the First Amendment, to deny registration of disparaging trademarks, in the case of Simon Tam, for whom the Redskins are strange bedfellows. When Tam applied to register the name of his all-Asian dance-rock band, the Slants, he meant to reclaim an epithet for Asians as a badge of pride, but the government refused the registration on the grounds that the name was likely disparaging to people of Asian descent. Last year, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit heard Tams case and issued a broad holding that the disparaging trademarks provision is unconstitutional. The government has now appealed to the Supreme Court, and its petition likely will be granted, because the lower court invalidated a congressional law on an important issue. The Redskins have asked the Court to hear their case along with Tams, even though their case hasnt yet made its way through the Fourth Circuit.
Tam was inspired to create an all-Asian band by Quentin Tarantinos film Kill Bill. Watching the scene in which gangsters known as the Crazy 88 strut with swords into a Tokyo restaurant, he said, I realized it was the first time Id seen an American-produced film that depicted Asians as cool, confident, and sexy. He couldnt recall seeing Asians on the cover of Rolling Stone, or hearing Asian rockers on the radio. Contemplating possible band names, Tam asked a white friend what he thought all Asians had in common, and the friend said, Slanted eyes. Tam was suddenly taken with the idea of a slantthat is, a viewpoint. It happened that slant was also a musical term for a type of guitar chord. Guitarists tend to assume were just talking about our music. Asians get it and think its funny and provocative. They find it empowering. Its just one of those cool hidden things.
The Slants, based in Portland, Oregon, have toured across the country playing eighties-style dance music to mostly Asian-American audiences. When the Patent and Trademark Office first denied their trademark registration, Tam thought it was a simple misunderstanding. Obviously we dont disparage Asians. We play at Asian festivals. Tam filed a second application, but this time omitted the Asian emphasis of the band and its name. The P.T.O. still found that The Slants referred to Asians, pointing to Tams ethnicity, the bands use of Asian imagery, and his statement on the bands Web site that he selected the name to own the Asian stereotype. It was when Tam realized that the bands Asian identity was actually counting against the application that he wanted to fight. If I was in an all-white band, The Slants would not have been an issue, he told me.
The government is understandably reluctant to facilitate commercial gain from the use of offensive terms. But, as the Federal Circuit reasoned, enforcement of the disparaging-trademarks provision means that the government approves certain speakers messages and disapproves others, engaging in impermissible viewpoint discrimination. Tam wanted the government to recognize what the bands audiences understoodthat the name The Slants was about Asian pride, not racism against Asians, and in that way was notably different from The Redskins. (He has spoken out against the Redskins name.) But its hard to be confident that the government will be able to discern the difference between denigrating people and reclaiming a term that denigrates people, particularly if the reappropriation hasnt yet become widespread enough to diminish the terms power to hurt a vulnerable group. And asking the government to inquire into whether the speaker intends to disparage or praise would mean involving it in precisely the kind of viewpoint discrimination we dont want the government engaged in. In effect, the government would have to adopt one viewpoint over the other even to determine whether a trademark is offensive.
more..http://www.newyorker.com/news/news-desk/whats-wrong-with-the-redskins?intcid=mod-latest
BillZBubb
(10,650 posts)I think they should grant the trademarks. Then the public could decide whether or not to do business with the trademark holder. Otherwise, the government is stepping into a really murky area of deciding what is and is not offensive.
The name "Slants" for an Asian rock group is actually kind of neat. It wouldn't be so neat if it was a bunch a Europeans dressed up as Ninjas--but then who'd watch that?
Just my two cents.
Kingofalldems
(38,520 posts)The Nationals have two players (Drew Ward and Koda Glover) in their system who are maybe a year away from the major league and who are from the Sioux Nation. When they come up I believe the pressure will be enough for the name to change.
FSogol
(45,599 posts)football team back in the city. I think the DC council will tie changing the name into the move deal.
Kingofalldems
(38,520 posts)which is entirely possible.
Chan790
(20,176 posts)and strikes both trademarks.
madinmaryland
(64,934 posts)yuiyoshida
(41,874 posts)with melting butter, or maybe... ranch dressing and pepper!
rurallib
(62,492 posts)brilliant!
yuiyoshida
(41,874 posts)Adrahil
(13,340 posts)The first amendment gautantees the right to speech. It does not mandate the financial protection of any speech.