[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 160 (2014), Part 7]
[Senate]
[Pages 10305-10306]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                    WASHINGTON FOOTBALL TEAM PATENT

  Ms. CANTWELL. Mr. President, I come to the floor because the patent 
office has just ruled that the name of the Washington football team is 
not patentable because it is a slur. We are so excited to know that 
finally people are recognizing this issue can no longer be a business 
case for the NFL to use this patent. They will not be able to

[[Page 10306]]

forcefully exclude other people for having derivatives of this logo or 
the name, thereby putting a big dent in the business case the NFL has.
  So many people have helped in this effort. I want to applaud them, 
from Senator Reid and his leadership, to Amanda Blackhorse and Suzan 
Harjo. Those are the people who have been fighting this case before the 
patent office. To all of the people who have watched the video on 
changethemascot.org, a Web site that basically depicts why Native 
Americans want to be viewed as human beings and not a mascot, we want 
to thank all of them.
  This is not the end of this case. But this is a landmark decision by 
the patent office that says the NFL team here in Washington, DC, does 
not have a patentable name, and that this is an offensive term, not 
patentable by the patent office.
  I hope all the business decisions over there at the team will 
understand this is no longer a business case, and will get off of this 
spurious name that we need to change.
  I thank my colleague in Maine for yielding me this opportunity to 
speak on this breaking important issue. I thank my colleagues here on 
the floor.

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