[ram29jackson]

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QUOTE]Currently, there are 600 trademarks that carry an American Indian image. These are held by 450 companies. Is the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office going after all of these? Are these five American Indians going to be spending the rest of their lives in court?

This case could start an avalanche of attacks on intellectual property. I wouldn't be surprised if the lawyers representing the Aunt Jemima and Uncle Ben's brands are huddling late in the night in the event some black Americans decide to bring suit over their brand's depiction of black Americans.

I want to be clear that America should never denigrate any group of people. But if people feel slighted and maligned, this should be settled in the courts, not mandated by the U.S. government.

As a nation we cannot take the value of intellectual property lightly.

In their "Economic Value of Intellectual Property" white paper, economists Robert Shapiro and Kevin Hassett estimate that U.S. intellectual property today is worth between $5 trillion and $5.5 trillion, equivalent to approximately 45 percent of U.S. GDP and greater than the GDP of any other nation in the world.

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