Indianz.Com - In The Hoop
URL: http://www.indianz.com//InTheHoop/archive/012662.asp
February 23, 2006
Redskins OK but N-word? Please
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Just how offensive is the term Redskins? Apparently not as offensive as the N-Word, as actor/comedian Damon Wayans, of In Living Color fame, has discovered. He's been trying to
trademark the 'N' word with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office but keeps getting rejected, Wired News reports.
On December 22, the agency told Wayans it was denying his application for a line of N-Word clothing because the word is "immoral or scandalous." "While debate exists about in-group uses of the term, 'nigga' is almost universally understood to be derogatory," a trademark examiner wrote.
But it turns out Wayans is not alone in his quest. At least three other entrepreneurs have asked the agency to trademark variations on the N-Word. All have been rejected or abandoned [U.S. Patent and Trademark Office Search].
Now compare that to the number of applications for Redskins [USPTO Search]. The team of the same name won approval to use the word and as early in 1972 and the marks have been renewed subsequently. The name must not be as "immoral or scandalous" as the N-Word.
That brings us to the famous lawsuit to cancel the names. The D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals revived the case last July and said it was dismissed without taking into account the views of a Native artist who was only a year old when the trademarks were first registered. Suzan Shown Harjo, the Native activist who initiated the case, is now seeking to add a young Native American, aged 18-24, as a plaintiff. Contact her if you're interested!
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