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". NMD XR1 Canada . 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. Buy NMDs Canada . A question that was repeatedly posed last season, and the season before that and in the 2011 campaign before that. y-3 Shoes Canada . Russia has spent about $51 billion to deliver the Sochi Olympics, which run Feb. 7-23, making them the most expensive games ever, even though as a winter event it hosts many fewer athletes than summer games do. http://www.nmdshoescanada.com/neo-lite-racer-cheap-canada.html . Maximilian Arnold put Wolfsburg ahead in the eighth minute, when the stationary Fallou Diagne allowed him to guide Patrick Ochs cross beyond the helpless Freiburg goalkeeper, and Ivica Olic doubled the lead three minutes later after Luiz Gustavo did well to set him up. ROME, Ga. -- The Atlanta Braves are facing the possibility of losing another pitcher for the season after general manager Frank Wren said Saturday that Cory Gearrin has a serious injury to his right elbow. Wren said Braves orthopedist Dr. Xavier Duralde on Friday found "ligament involvement" in Gearrins elbow. Wren said the right-hander will see Dr. James Andrews next week for a second opinion and a "definite diagnosis." Clearly, the Braves have braced for bad news. "I think he has a significant injury," Wren said. It is another blow to a Braves staff that already has lost starting pitchers Kris Medlen and Brandon Beachy this spring to their second Tommy John surgeries. "Weve kind of eaten through our depth," Wren said. "It looked like we were in pretty good shape coming into spring training with some guys about to get healthy and all of a sudden the next thing you know were pretty thin." Gearrin was placed on the disabled list on Saturday and left-hander Ryan Buchter was recalled from Triple-A Gwinnett. Gearrin, a reliever, left Tuesdays spring training game against Detroit with what was described as an elbow sprain. Wren attempted to address the injuries to Medlen and Beachy by signing Ervin Santana and Aaron Harang this month. Still, the staff will be especially thin for the start of the season as Santana continues to work into form and Mike Minor and Gavin Floyd recover from injuries. Minor, who was scheduled to pitch in an exhibition game against top Braves minor leaguers on Saturday, will open the season on the disabled list as he recovers from a sore shoulder. y-3 Store Canada. Floyd is recovering from surgery in May to repair the ulnar collateral ligament and a torn flexor muscle in his right elbow. The Braves hope Minor and Floyd can join the rotation by late April. Santana is expected to be ready by mid-April. Gearrin was 2-1 with a 3.77 ERA and one save in 37 games with Atlanta in 2013, his first full season in the majors. He was expected to serve in a setup role for closer Craig Kimbrel. The Braves return Luis Avilan, David Carpenter, Anthony Varvaro and Jordan Walden as veteran relievers but now may have more youth than expected in the bullpen. "We always find a way to do it and get over it," manager Fredi Gonzalez said. "Somebody else will step up. I have the confidence in our club that theyll overcome that." Wren said Gearrins injury forced him to look for more outside help. "We have been watching very closely other moves to see if there was someone who could upgrade us or someone who could help us and we havent seen anyone we felt were better than the pitchers we have," Wren said. The Braves released veteran Freddy Garcia before signing Harang. Wren said the team was not considering re-signing Garcia. Wren said the Braves are not the only team having to adjust to injuries. "When I look around baseball theres a lot of us like this," Wren said. "Its just one of those springs and theres not a lot you can do about it." ' ' '