http://www.washingtontimes.com/blog/redskins-watch/2013/oct/25/dan-snyder-neighbor-trademarks-washington-bravehea/By Brian McNally - The Washington Times
October 25, 2013, 01:13PM
A neighbor of Washington Redskins owner Daniel Snyder has registered the name Washington Bravehearts for use for “entertainment in the nature of football games.”
Snyder’s wealthy buddy and Potomac, Md., neighbor Aris Mardirossian registered the trademark and launched “Washington Brave Hearts LLC” on Oct. 17, TMZ first reported.
That use of the phrase “ENTERTAINMENT SERVICES IN THE FORM OF PROFESSIONAL FOOTBALL GAMES AND EXHIBITIONS” filed with the United States Patent and Trademark office is raising eyebrows.
It’s close to the exact language used in the trademark registrations for the NFL’s Seattle Seahawks and Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
A Snyder spokesman denied a name change was afoot.
“There is no connection between the Washington Redskins and the trademark application,” said a team spokesman. “Dan Snyder does not know the man named in the story.”
Snyder and Mardirossian worked together in a lawsuit against the National Park Service in a fight to chop down trees in front of their homes, a request that was denied. Snyder wanted to chop 130 trees in front of his Potomac riverfront estate in 2005.
The official trademark registration for the Washington Redskins, filed Sept. 11, 1972, says it is for “entertainment services – namely, presentations of professional football contests.”
This doesn’t mean that the Redskins are on the verge of a name change. But it is curious timing given the controversy surrounding the racial aspect of the “Redskins” name in recent months.
President Obama weighed in earlier this month saying he would likely change the name if he was the Redskins’ owner and the Oneida Indian Nation held a protest in the District earlier this month when NFL owners were in town for meetings.
