New Brand Challenge for the Utah Hockey Team
The NHL franchise in Utah faces a new legal challenge related to its name. Mammoth Hockey LLC, a hockey equipment bag manufacturer based in Portland, Oregon, has filed a motion for a preliminary injunction in the United States District Court in Utah. The goal of this legal action is to “protect its established brand against use by the new NHL franchise in Utah, which adopted the name ‘Utah Mammoth’ on May 7, 2025”. This motion, filed on September 25, is a counterclaim against the owners of the Utah Mammoth. Previously, on August 1, Uyte and Smith Entertainment Group Hockey filed a motion to end any trademark dispute with Mammoth Hockey LLC, who, according to them, had threatened litigation since the NHL team’s name was officially announced. The NHL team was known as the Utah Hockey Club in its inaugural 2024-25 season, after SEG purchased and relocated the Arizona Coyotes franchise to Salt Lake City. The name was changed to Utah Mammoth after fans cast more than 850,000 votes in multiple rounds to determine the name. Mammoth Hockey was founded in 2014 by Erik Olson and Lars Huschke. The company argues that the NHL team’s nickname has created “confusion” and “undermines” its brand identity, as online searches for “Mammoth hockey bags” now direct users to the NHL team’s store. Mammoth Hockey also sells jerseys, caps, and water bottles. When asked about Mammoth Hockey’s most recent presentation, SEG referred to its original August statement: “The Utah Mammoth filed a lawsuit in the United States District Court for the District of Utah seeking a declaratory judgment that the use of the Utah Mammoth trademark does not violate any rights claimed by a third party. Utah Mammoth and the NHL firmly believe 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. We have taken this step only after careful consideration based on the defendant’s position.” This is not the first trademark challenge Utah has faced during its naming process. Before Utah’s inaugural season, “Yeti” was one of six potential name options submitted to a fan vote in June 2024. It was widely considered to be the team’s eventual name, even by Utah players. But the team announced in January that it would not move forward with “Yeti” or “Yetis” after the United States Patent and Trademark Office rejected a trademark application for “Utah Yetis” due to the “likelihood of confusion” for consumers with other companies and brands using the name. Among those parties was Yeti Coolers LLC, which manufactures cups, coolers, and clothing. Mammoth Hockey LLC cited that prior trademark dispute when filing its motion for a preliminary injunction.The team said in May that the names in the final voting group had no trademark issues.“Mammoth Hockey argues that the Utah Mammoth knew of its long-standing use of the trademark, but never sought an agreement, unlike other brands whose names were considered, including Yeti, when similar conflicts arose,” they stated.
Mammoth Hockey LLC
