Obama lawyers fight to stop ‘Redskins’ trademark

In a filing Monday, the Justice Department defended the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board’s decision last year to strip the team of protections.

“Not only do trademarks function only minimally as a vehicle for expression, but trademark registration also involves the necessary participation of the government in approving that registration, which confers relaxed First Amendment review even when combined with the speech of a private party,” the Obama lawyers said.

Trademark law says disparaging marks cannot be granted protections, and the government argues that the name has become disparaging over the last century. The trademark board, in its 2-1 ruling, also cited polling suggesting a significant percentage of Native Americans consider the name a slur.