Recently the Washington Football Team received a challenge from the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) about their current moniker. Now the franchise has announced that they will officially name the team, and release their new logo in 2022.
The challenge came from the broad terms used, and their potential to confuse the market place. There had been some speculation that the Football Team could keep that name permanently. But the opposition from the USPTO has put an end to that.
Washington has reached out to fans for help with their new name, as many clubs do, and that was a topic of the Washington Post article that broke this part of the story. The writer, Nicki Jhabvala spoke to team president Jason Wright, and wrote this in the piece:
“The team hired Code and Theory, a digital creative agency, to guide it through the rebranding process, which has included 40,000 submissions from fans, multiple focus groups, surveys and a digital rollout to give fans insight into the process. The new name and logo will be revealed in early 2022, Wright said, and will retain the traditional burgundy and gold colors that are entrenched in the team’s history.”
Nicki Jhabvala
The team dripped its previous logo and name before the 2020 season, launching a big social media campaign that highlighted the possibilities that Washington could take on. None bigger than the “Trademark Hog” himself, Martin McCauley, who has hired attorney Darren Heitner:
Additionally, registration of the “Washington Football Team” trademark has been refused because it is believed to be primarily geographically descriptive of the NFL team’s good and services.
— Darren Heitner (@DarrenHeitner) June 19, 2021
Tough road ahead for the team if it wants TM protection on the principal register. pic.twitter.com/c5fwIn341Q
The team has less than six months to respond to the opposition, but there are extensions that can be granted. They’ll likely hold off dealing with all of it until after the 2021 season.