WASHINGTON — A U.S. appeals court this week upheld a decision to refuse to allow the owners of a website titled “Stop! Islamization of America” to trademark the site’s name, in a case that legal experts think has implications for the long-running fight over the name of the Washington Redskins NFL team.

Tuesday’s case had its origin in 2011, when an examiner with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) refused to register the website name as a trademark, arguing that it could be disparaging to American Muslims. The decision was reviewed by the USPTO itself, and upheld.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit affirmed that decision, citing essays and comments on the website which opposed building mosques in the United States, and expressions of support for Muslims who leave the faith.

“Appellants (the website owners) contend the essays posted on their website do not advocate suppression of the Islamic faith, but only oppose political Islamisation. The (USPTO) board disagreed, as do we,” the court said in its ruling which found “substantial evidence” for the trademark office’s decision.

Pamela Geller, an owner of the website, said she was not surprised by the ruling.

“This is a complete whitewash and we knew we would be up against the PC (politically correct) bias in the court. This is clear ongoing evidence of how the federal government and especially the courts, bend over backwards, kowtow and placate Muslim sensitivities,” she said in an email.

The case is being watched by trademark experts for its potential to influence an ongoing fight at the USPTO over whether Washington’s NFL team should lose its trademark for being disparaging to Native Americans, says Christine Farley, who teaches trademark law at the American University Washington College of Law.