Merl,
I don't think that anyone is asking KCBS to protect a team name that is already in use. I just found it interesting that in the document
Your First Cookoff found on the KCBS site, you don't even recommend that a new team look in the KCBS Bio's.
Choosing a Team Name
You’ll need a team name, so get together with your teammates and agree on one.
There are many team names already in use, so check on the internet at
www.bbqteamnames.com to be sure you aren’t picking something already being used by someone else. Be creative and have fun in picking your team name, but be considerate of other who may be in attendance at the cookoff. There will be families and children there, so you probably don’t want a team name that causes a child to turn to his parents and say ‘Mommy? What’s a (blank)?”
Above and beyond Rays site and the KCBS Bio's, there are many other ways to check if a team name is already in use. The simplest is a Goggle search.