The United States Patent and Trademarks Office (USPTO) has today ordered that six Redskins trademark registrations be cancelled on the basis that they are "disparaging to Native Americans". Five Native Americans initiated the cancellation proceeding pursuant to the U.S. Trademarks Act, which "prohibits registration of marks that may disparage persons or bring them into contempt or disrepute." There has been some talk that the registrations have been cancelled, that the Redskins have lost all their trademark protection and that anyone can now go out and start selling Redskins merchandise without the permission of the team. All that is wrong. The trademark registrations have not been cancelled as of yet. The ruling was to cancel the registrations, but they remain in good standing, and will for some time. Challenging the decision will buy the Redskins time. The team will appeal the decision, and in the meantime, the trademark registrations will remain active. The Redskins can appeal the decision to the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit. They may also start a court action in District Court for the District of Columbia. They may also request reconsideration of the decision with the USPTO. Expect the Redskins to take its case to District Court since that will give them the opportunity to introduce new evidence. At the Court of Appeals level, they cant submit new evidence; rather the court is stuck with the record from the original hearing. On to the big issue: does the cancellation mean that the Redskins lose their trademark rights? The ruling to cancel the trademark registrations does NOT strip the team of its trademark rights or its ability to stop unauthorized parties from using the Redskins marks. The Redskins have acquired what are called common law trademark rights. These are trademark rights that arise by virtue of the use of the mark in the marketplace. By "use", I mean things like jersey sales and the mark appearing in TV broadcasts and online. And heres the key: common law trademark rights are enforceable and the Redskins could rely on them to stop a third party from making unauthorized use of its marks. This means that the team does not need a trademark registration to stop someone from making unauthorized use of its marks. Common law rights can be relied upon to do just that. While there are important differences between registered and common law trademarks as far as scope of protection, the fame of the Redskins mark together with national sales and use place the Redskins in a good position to stop others from using their marks. So if some guy in Wisconsin starts selling product with the Redskins trademark on it without the permission of the team, he should expect to receive a cease and desist letter from the team, and failing his agreement to stop, he could face a lawsuit. Apart from trademarks, the Redskins could also sue for copyright infringement if someone makes unauthorized use of their logo or stylized word mark. The decision of the USPTO relates only to trademarks and has nothing to do with copyright. While the potential cancellation is not fatal to the ability of the Redskins to enforce their rights, this is yet another blow to the Redskins team name. The pressure on the team and league to change its name continues to mount with no end in sight. Indeed, the question may not be if the team changes its name, but when. Cheap Air Max Plus . Two-time Olympic bronze medallists Savchenko and Szolkowy received 79.02 points to finish ahead of world bronze medallists Meagan Duhamel and Eric Radford of Canada, who had 77.01 points. Air Max Plus Cheap . Louis Blues were workmanlike, methodical and -- most of all -- effective on Monday night. http://www.cheapairmaxplus.net/ . Halladays resume as a Blue Jay is among the elite in the franchises 36-year history. Over 12 seasons in Toronto, he was named an All-Star six times. He had arguably the finest campaign of his career in 2003 when he posted a 22-7 record, a 3. Air Max Plus For Sale Cheap . After rookie right-hander Alex Colome excelled in a 5-2 victory in the opener, the Rays fell to Chris Tillman and the Orioles 4-1 on Friday night. Cheap Air Max Plus Womens . - For a general manager who preaches building through the draft, Reggie McKenzie has struggled to find impact players his first two years in Oakland. VANCOUVER -- The Montreal Canadiens traded defenceman Raphael Diaz to the Vancouver Canucks on Monday in exchange for forward Dale Weise. The 28-year-old Diaz had 11 assists and 12 penalty minutes in 46 games for the Canadiens this season. The native of Baar, Switzerland, has 41 points (four goals, 37 assists) and 48 penalty minutes in 128 NHL career games but was a healthy scratch of late with Montreal. "This is the business. This is the way it is," Diaz said Monday on a conference call. "As a player you want to play as much as you can and you want to help you team." Diaz joins a Canucks blue-line that has suffered a number of injuries in recent weeks, with both Christopher Tanev and Kevin Bieksa currently out of the lineup. "As a sportsman, as a hockey player, you respect everything (teams) do," he said. "(The Canadiens) always treated me good. They helped me learn a lot things to play in the NHL. "Im really excited for the new opportunity." Meanwhile, Weise never seemed to fit into the plans of Canucks head coach John Tortorella. The Winnipeg native had three goals, nine assists and 42 penalty minutes in 44 games this season, mostly while playing on the fourth line. "II think I can bring a physical presence to the (Canadiens)," said Weise.dddddddddddd "Im a good skater and I work hard and my success is down low and hanging onto pucks and being physical and trying to get to the hard areas to score goals. "Im not sure where Im going to fit in just yet. Im just looking forward to coming in and trying to play hard and trying to find a spot." In 162 career NHL games, the 25-year-old has 10 goals, 16 assists and 185 penalty minutes. Weises name had been mentioned in trade speculation in recent weeks, but Mondays deal still caught him off guard. "(The trade) comes as a little bit of a shock to me," said Weise. "I think any time you hear rumours around you think about it but theres so many (rumours) that go around and you just never know. "I didnt put too much thought into it ... I was shocked when I heard about it today." Weise was expected to arrive in Montreal on Monday night and practise with the Canadiens on Tuesday morning, while Diaz was set to meet up with his new teammates the same day in Boston. Both Weise and Diaz will get a chance to face their old teams this week when the Canadiens host the Canucks on Thursday night at the Bell Centre. ' ' '