Quinn Emanuel's Raskopf Wins Affirmance of Washington Redskins' Trademarks
By Andrew Longstreth
May 15, 2009
The Washington Redskins franchise is worth more than $1 billion, so it's not exactly surprising that the organization has shown no interest in acceding to plaintiffs who claim the team's trademarks disparage Native Americans. But the 17-year battle may finally be nearing a conclusion. On Friday the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit issued an opinion affirming a district court's finding that the plaintiffs had waited too long to challenge the trademarks.The oldest of the trademarks at issue in the case was registered in 1967. But the Native American plaintiffs didn't challenge it until 1992. Still, the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board sided with them in a decision issued in 1994. The Redskins appealed to the district court in Washington, D.C., where its lawyer, Robert Raskopf (then of White & Case, now of Quinn Emanuel Urquhart Oliver & Hedges) argued both that the plaintiffs had waited too long to challenge the marks and that there was not sufficient evidence on the record of disparagement. Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly sided with the Redskins in 2003.
But after an appeal by the plaintiffs, the D.C. Circuit sent the dispute back to Judge Kollar-Kotelly, instructing her to reconsider the case in light of the age of one of the Native American plaintiffs. Mateo Romero was only a year old in 1967, when the first Redskins trademark was registered, and turned 18 in 1984. The appellate court asked Judge Kollar-Kotelly to analyze the issue of delay since 1984, not 1967.
On remand, Judge Kollar-Kotelly held that Romero had also waited too long, and that the delay in filing was prejudicial to the Redskins. She noted that in the eight-year period between Romero's eighteenth birthday in December 1984 and the filing of the trademark challenge in 1992, the Redskins continued to spend money investing in their brand. She also noted that the Redskins' former owner, Edward Bennett Williams, died during that period, which hampered the team's ability to gather evidence to support the mark, such as information on a meeting Williams had with Native American leaders about their views.
In Friday's ruling the D.C. Circuit found no fault with Kollar-Kotelly's analysis.
Philip Mause of Drinker Biddle & Reath, an attorney for the Native American plaintiffs, told us Friday that he was reviewing the opinion to decide whether to appeal. He also told us that he represents younger plaintiffs in a similar case that may not present the same problems. The Native American community is looking forward to having a court consider the merits of its challenge to the Redskins' marks, Mause said, adding, "Sooner or later, it will [happen]."
Raskopf was in a good mood when we spoke with him about the appellate win. He's been on the case since it started 17 years ago. "It's a great win for the team," said Raskopf, who had help from Quinn partner Sanford Weisburst on the brief. "I'm so happy for the Redskins and their fans."
