The Washington Redskins have a new opponent in their court fight to retain their controversial trademark: the Obama administration.  Recently, the U.S. Department of Justice filed notice of its intention to intervene in the long-running battle over whether the Washington Redskins can legally maintain the trademark on their name. Last June, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office canceled the team’s trademarks upon finding that the marks and the name “Redskins” were disparaging to Native Americans.  In the team’s appeal of that ruling the Redskins argued that the section of the Lanham Act that prohibits the registration of offensive trademarks was “overly vague and ambiguous” and impermissibly interfered with their First Amendment right to free speech.  The team also claimed the ruling stripped the team its intellectual property rights in violation of the Fifth Amendment. The DOJ has joined the battle because the Redskins, in its appeal, raised a constitutional challenge against the Lanham Act, which is a federal law.  The Department issued a statement declaring that it is “dedicated to defending the constitutionality of the important statute ensuring that trademark issues involving disparaging and derogatory language are dealt with fairly.”  The statement went on to say that the Department will […]