Trademark hog really just wants to help Washington find new NFL name

Could the Washington Redskins’ trademark tussle end soon without much of a fight at all?

Martin McCaulay, the 61-year-old Virginia man who owns more than 40 trademarks for alternative Washington sports team names, has “no intention to stand in the way” of the rebranding, according to attorney Darren Heitner.

McCaulay went viral overnight earlier this week when the NFL franchise retired its derogatory team name but delayed announcing a replacement, reportedly because of a trademark issue. He retained Heitner, who posted to Twitter a letter he intends to send to Redskins owner Daniel Snyder offering to “assist you and your organization should the franchise have any interest in rebranding to one of the marks (or a similarly phrased mark).”

The idea behind trademark squatting is to profit by forcing another party into paying a greater acquisition fee than was spent to originally purchase and maintain the trademark. McCaulay reportedly runs a website where he sells gear for several of his unestablished teams and has a “bona fide intent to use each mark in commerce,” Heitner told The Post.

But McCaulay was just operating “an expensive hobby” without intending to become a “trademark troll,” according to the attorney.

“Mr. McCauley is happy to step aside and provide the football team with whatever clearance and comfort it needs to proceed with the nickname of its choice,” Heitner told The Post.

McCaulay possesses pending applications for Washington Red Wolves, Washington Red Tails, Washington Monuments, Washington Warriors and other popular alternatives, some of which government records show were submitted earlier this month after Sndyer announced a review of the team name that ultimately led to a decision to change. He already owns registrations for Washington Red-Tailed Hawks, Washington Football Club and Washington Americans.

“He simply wishes to open the door to discussions so that, if the franchise is at all concerned about Mr. McCaulay’s trademark registrations or pending applications, the team is aware that there is nothing to fear,” Heitner wrote in the letter to Snyder. “Mr. McCaulay will gladly do whatever is in his power to clear a path for the Washington NFL team to rebrand itself without the need to incur substantial legal fees.”