SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — The owners of the NHL's Utah Mammoth have filed a lawsuit against a hockey equipment bag manufacturer to settle a trademark dispute.
The lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court in Utah claims the Mammoth and Mammoth Hockey LLC have reached a stalemate in the trademark fight.
“Utah Mammoth and the NHL believe strongly that we have the right to use the name Utah Mammoth under federal and state law, and that our use will not harm the defendant or its business in any way,” Smith Entertainment Group officials said in a statement. “We have taken this action only after careful consideration based on the defendant’s position.”
The Mammoth announced the new name and logo in May following the team's first season in Utah. The team used the name Utah Hockey Club for its first season after moving from Arizona to Salt Lake City.
Oregon-based Mammoth Hockey issued a cease-and-desist letter not long after the new franchise name was unveiled, claiming potential customers would confuse the two brands and fans of rival teams would not purchase its products. The team and the company both have mammoth-shaped logos, and are associated with “Mammoth” and “hockey,” according to the letter.
Mammoth Hockey launched in 2014 and manufactures large equipment bags geared toward hockey players.
“Mammoth Hockey intends to vigorously defend the litigation recently commenced against it by Utah Mammoth of the National Hockey League and protect its longstanding trademark used in connection with the hockey goods it has manufactured and sold for the past 10 years,” Mammoth Hockey co-founder Erik Olson said in a statement to the Deseret News.
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