U.S. Patent and Trademark Office calls "Redskins" offensive

The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office rejected an application to trademark the name “Redskins Hog Rind,” writing that the term “Redskins” is “a derogatory slang term that refers to, and is considered offensive by, American Indians.”

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The agency cited five definitions from online dictionaries – from The Oxford Dictionary to Yahoo – that labeled the word as offensive or disparaging. In addition the agency pointed to news articles about Native American challenges to the Redskins name, including the policy of the National Congress of American Indians, which officially refers to the team as the “R*dskins” or “R Word”.

The Redskins’ senior vice president for communications, Tony Wyllie, told CNN the team is not commenting on the decision.

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