A brand new era: Washington Redskins become ‘Commanders’

Washington DC’s national football league (NFL) unveiled its new team name the “ Washington Commanders” on Wednesday, February 2, after much public speculation and curiosity.

This rebranding marks a decisive new chapter for the team, which called itself the “Washington Football Team” after retiring the judicially declared racial slur “Redskins” in 2020.

The team joins numerous sports teams that have pivoted away from team names and logos disparaging toward Native Americans, such as the Cleveland major league baseball team, which rebranded from the Cleveland Indians to the Cleveland Guardians in 2021.

An inclusive identity

Like other sports teams and prominent brands interested in creating modern and inclusive brand identities, the Washington Commanders have balanced legal and business priorities, while maintaining strong connections with fans.

For the Washington Commanders, choosing a new name involved avoiding trademark squatters and names already in use by others.

For example, an individual named Philip Martin McCaulay filed numerous intent-to-use trademark applications with the USPTO for “Washington”—formative marks covering football games, including the “Washington Monuments,” “Washington Redtails,” “Washington Veterans,” and “Washington Federals.”

McCaulay also appears to be affiliated with intent-to-use trademark applications for “Washington Redwolves,” “Washington Wolf Commanders,” and “Washington Space Commanders.”

But the “Washington Commanders” and “Commanders” were not among McCaulay’s many trademark applications. As an interesting aside, “Red Wolves” was already in use as the team name for collegiate sports at Arkansas State University, including the Arkansas State Red Wolves football team.

That Arkansas State University had been using the Red Wolves team name since 2008 might have prompted the Washington Football Team to announce on January 4, 2022 that it would not choose “Red Wolves” as its new team name.

Avoiding costly disputes

A big goal with any major rebranding is to avoid potentially costly legal disputes by not selecting names or logos already in use by third parties or by purchasing existing rights. That said, many high profile rebrandings also involve great secrecy so that public announcements happen according to the owner’s schedule and not that of snooping press or opportunistic trademark squatters.

To avoid premature disclosure of the new name, companies often file trademark applications in countries whose trademark databases are difficult to search online, such as Mauritius.

When the time comes to unveil the new name, the company can then file a trademark application for the new name in the US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), knowing that even though USPTO official records are publicly available shortly after they are filed, the convention priority claims back to the filing date of the earlier foreign application (eg, an application filed in Mauritius) protects their legal interests.

The Cleveland Guardians used such a strategy to keep secret its new “Guardians” name until it filed the US applications for “Cleveland Guardians” in July 2021, while legally benefitting from the priority of the April 2021 filing date of its “Cleveland Guardians” trademark applications in Mauritius.

A new era

At this time, USPTO records do not show any trademark applications for “Commanders” or “Washington Commanders” that appear to be associated with the DC professional football franchise.

So, for now, the “Commanders” trademark filing strategy remains a secret. Another important chapter of the rebranding playbook is maintaining brand identity. For many sports teams, including the Washington Commanders, a new team name is accompanied by familiar colour schemes and, sometimes, logos.

Often, teams choosing a new name keep the same uniform and apparel colours, which contributes to strong brand identities and connections with longtime fans.

Fans of the Washington Commanders will recognise the team’s hallmark burgundy and gold uniforms and will be able to buy similarly coloured fan apparel.

These recognisable colors, along with a new “W” logo, will help the team to usher in its new era while recognising its strong legacy and fan support.

Mark Sommers is a partner at Finnegan in Washington, DC. He can be contacted at mark.sommers@finnegan.com

Jessica Hannah is an associate at Finnegan in Washington, DC. She can be contacted at: jessica.hannah@finnegan.com

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