Tag: Washington Warriors

Washington NFL team’s next hurdle: Trademark squatter

A 61-year-old from Virginia could be a huge hurdle as Washington looks to Trademark its next nickname.

The decision to change the nickname of Washington’s NFL team will be announced Monday. There is a hiccup in the announcement of the next monker, though. Dan Snyder could be facing the challenge to toppling a trademark squatter.

Martin McCaulay says he has a crystal ball.

“I can really see into the future on this issue,” McCaulay, who is now a 61-year-old actuary living in Alexandria, VA, told FOX5 in 2015. “Now when I look into the future, I see no change for 10 years, and then in 10 years, I see the name changing to the Washington Warriors. And if not the Warriors, then the Americans.”

Five years ago he had registered for trademark protection on the following Washington-based names: Americans, Bravehearts, Federals, Forces, Founders, Gladiators, Monuments, Natives, Pandas, Pigskins, Red-Tailed Hawks, Renegades, Sharks, Veterans, and Tribe. McCaulay told FOX5 that he had spent $20,000 to secure the various trademarks.

“A squatter reserves a name with no intention to use it,” McCaulay told Richmond.com. “I went to the extreme of buying a lot of merchandise, making it my brand, and selling it.”

He has a website, WashingtonAmericansFootball.com, where people can order merchandise for several of his teams — the Washington Founders, Monuments, Pandas, Veterans, Warriors and Red-Tailed Hawks.

He’s been busy since the team announced it was going to conduct a
“thorough review” of its nickname July 3.

McCaulay has started to file for more Washington based team names.McCaulay has recently filed applications for the following trademarks: Washington Redtails (July 7 and July 5), Washington Monuments (July 6), Washington Veterans (July 6), Washington Renegades (July 6), Washington Red-Tailed Hawks (July 4), and Washington Americans (June 18).

The Washington Warriors name seemed to either slip through Snyder’s mind or hands.

Per the Washington Times:

Washington Redskins owner Dan Snyder, through a holding company, abandoned his pursuit of obtaining a trademark for the term “Warriors” in 2019 and ultimately lost the chance for registering the mark earlier this year — a move that could complicate the team’s potential rebrand as officials conduct a review of its name.

Snyder had an opportunity to trademark “Warriors” last year, after the reopening of a 2007 case in which he filed to own the moniker. But did not respond to the trademark office, answer an opposition claim or file an appeal when the judgment was issued against his holding company, Washington Football Inc.

McCaulay told Richmond.com he sent a letter to the NFL last week offering his trademarks for free if it sped up the process of renaming.

“I don’t want to be the one who is an obstacle,” he said, noting that he’s become aware of how the Redskins name could be offensive to members of the Native American community.

However, he said he failed to receive a response and that offer is now off the table.

 

Report: Washington name change to come ‘sooner than later’

The Washington name change is likely to come in the next few days, with many thinking it will be either the Warriors or Redwolves.

The Washington Redskins are reportedly close to announcing a new team name, which could likely happen within the next week.

According to a report from ESPN’s John Keim, the name change could come ‘sooner than later.’

The Washington Redskins are close to having a new name “sooner than later”, a source said Saturday night. Earlier in the day Yahoo’s Charles Robinson reported a name could be announced within 24 to 48 hours. After Washington announced July 3 it would review its name, the feeling was it would be a quicker process. Multiple sources said owner Dan Snyder had started talking to the league about this three weeks ago. Snyder had once wanted an Arena League team, intending to call them the Warriors.

The official name is obviously not yet known, but a lot of speculation has led fans to believe that it is either between the Warriors or Redwolves at the moment. The fan vote seems to favor the Redwolves, while Snyder has a history with the Warriors name that has included trademarks.

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Will Dan Snyder’s desire to keep Washington’s logo impact decision on team name?

Dan Snyder reportedly wishes to keep Washington’s current logo, which may impact what the next team name will be.

How do you change a team’s name without completely erasing the history that it holds? Can you hold onto those memories if both the name and the mascot are different down the road?

Those are some of the questions that Dan Snyder and Ron Rivera and likely asking themselves right now when it comes to the Washington ________. While it seems apparent that ‘Redskins’ is out, something else needs to step in. But what exactly?

For one former Washington player, cornerback Fred Smoot, the leading candidate is the Washington Warriors, simply because it would make it so that only a name change is necessary, and the logo could remain. He said as much when talking to NBC Sports Washington. 

“Me, in my head, Warriors is the one that sticks out the most. I think it’s an easy transition. There are no Warriors in the NFL. It’s already a mascot for Golden State, and they’ve gotten no pushback on it. At the end of the day, besides Warriors, I know Redtails is up there. But [Synder] said something that stuck out to me: he wants to keep the logo and acknowledge Native Americans, give them something that they’re proud of. So that tells me that it won’t be Redtails.”

Many believe that switching away from the current Redskins name will be enough to appease those who find the name racist and insensitive. Others will undoubtedly claim that the use of a Native American Chief as a logo will still be a step too far.

In the end, it will be interesting to see how important that logo is to Snyder and Rivera, and whether or not it will greatly impact their decision when making the final call.

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