There are many different opinions on whether the Washington Redskins NFL football franchise should change its long-standing name, with fans on both sides of the issue. But for fans of trademark law, there is an interesting legal issue brewing. Although the possibility of a team name change has been circulating for years, it doesn't seem as if the Team has had any public plans for succession, or at least they did not take any steps to secure the ownership rights to use some of the more likely or more popular replacement names that have been circulating.

Enter one, Philip Martin McCaulay, who since 2014 has been registering a host of potential Washington franchise names for various apparel and other "merch," and websites featuring football content, including: Washington  Americans, Washington Bravehearts, Washington Federals, Washington Forces, Washington Founders, Washington Gladiators, Washington Monuments, Washington Natives, Washington Pandas, Washington Pigskins, Washington Red-Tailed Hawks, Washington Renegades Gridiron Football, Washington Sharks, Washington Veterans and Washington Tribe. OK, so maybe some of those aren't that great, but several of them are pretty good. And in just the last few weeks, McCaulay has filed several more intent-to-use applications for marks including Washington Red Wolves, Washington Redtails and Washington Warriors, among others.