Commanders sell gear with abandoned name, logo at team store

The Commanders’ former name and logo are gone. Unless they aren’t.

As explained by Eric Flack of WUSA, the Commanders are selling in their team store gear containing both the name and the logo.

The Commanders have insisted that the name and the logo are gone for good. They told Flack that they’re using both on a limited basis in order to preserve their trademark rights. And they stress that none of it means they’ll be going back to either.

Still, it feels as if the Commanders are periodically dipping a toe a little deeper into the water regarding the possibility of bringing back both.

Or maybe they’ve decided to pander, just a bit, to fans who want the old name and logo to return.

Without researching the niceties of copyright law, it seems possible to shelve trademarks indefinitely without making it open season on the protected name and logo.

And if they’re truly never going back to the name and the logo, why do they care about preserving the trademark rights? That fact alone suggests they’re reserving the right to bring both back — at the right time.