Branding has become the new business watchword of the 21st century. Branding efforts may be driven by social media, e-commerce and web design issues, maximizing synergies between products, targeting or responding to real or perceived competition, or just trying to refresh an old look. The goal of a brand, obviously, is to represent the product or service in a way that is recognizable, unique, and hopefully memorable to its customer base. In order to meet that goal, most brands are configured from some combination of colors, shapes, words, images, fonts, and other graphic elements. In addition to being recognizable and memorable, a brand should also be seen as positive. However, what is positive to the brand’s owners and some of its customers, may not be seen as positive by all who are familiar with the brand. Recently, the name and logos associated with the NFL’s Washington Redskins have become a lightning rod and cautionary case for the challenges associated with branding. But, as a review of the law regarding selection and use of brands and trademarks demonstrates, the legal ramifications of controversial brands are anything but clear.