The United States Patent and Trademark Office denied the franchise's application to trademark the "Washington Commanders" name.
Particularly, the application was denied for two reasons. The first was a substantive 2d refusal due to the "likelihood of confusion" with the "Commanders' Classic" mark. Commanders Class is an annual college football game between the Air Force and Army, which is already registered with The United States Patent and Trademark Office. The next refusal is way more interesting. The second refusal is based upon a pending application by a D.C. native who filed trademarks attempting to guess the new team’s name. The "Washington Space Commanders" and "Washington Wolf Commanders" are two of various trademark applications submitted in by the individual that have helped lead to this denial for the NFL team.
In July 2020, Washington began its name-change process, which is when it decided to retire the "Redskins" nickname, which had been linked with the team since 1933. After that, the franchise labeled itself "The Washington Football Team" for two seasons as a temporary placeholder until they decided on a name that would stick. In February 2022, the team revealed the “Commanders” name.
Going forward, the team could file a response to the USPTO’s Office Actions disputing that it's unlikely they'd be confused with the "Commanders' Classic" game. Also, they could attempt to purchase the rights and ownership of the game or sign a co-existence agreement. Fortunately, the D.C. owner of the confusing marks, said he was willing to relinquish ownership at no cost to the NFL team. However, that was back in 2020. He may have changed his tune.
Despite facing the USPTO’s Office Actions the team feels confident of successful registration. A team spokesperson told Pro Football Talk "we will respond to the Trademark Office's office action and are confident that our registration will be issued. In particular, there is no likelihood of confusion between our COMMANDERS marks and the COMMANDERS' CLASSIC football game between the Army and the Air Force. We do not believe that any trademark registrations that were obtained by squatters who attempted to capitalize on the Club's name change should stand in the way of our registrations."
Time will tell. However, this could’ve all been avoided with a comprehensive search prior to submitting an application to the USPTO. With these pending Office Actions, the NFL team will now have to pay it’s intellectual property lawyers more money to overcome this roadblock.