- Mammoth Hockey, a hockey bag manufacturer that has existed since at least 2014, sent the Utah Mammoth a cease-and-desist letter for usage of the name.
- Smith Entertainment Group argues that it has the sole trademark for the name, and that Mammoth Hockey's rights are only based on common law.
- SEG also argues that Mammoth Hockey voiced support over the team's naming decision, though Mammoth Hockey argues that they were just observations.
Smith Entertainment Group, which owns the Utah Mammoth, has filed a lawsuit against Mammoth Hockey, an equipment manufacturer that primarily sells hockey bags, but also has a line of other Mammoth-branded merchandise.
The complaint filed in U.S. District Court in Salt Lake City alleges that the hockey bag manufacturer was at first supportive of the NHL team using the “Mammoth” name, but “reversed course” in June and “has recently threatened litigation in some unknown forum, at some unknown time.”
SEG filed the complaint Aug. 1, requesting the court to find “that their use of the ‘Utah Mammoth’ trademark is fully compliant with relevant federal and state law, and not violative of any trademark rights defendant may possess.”
The complaint is in response to a cease-and-desist letter SEG received from Mammoth Hockey on June 10, requesting the NHL team stop using the “Mammoth” name, transfer all goods yet to be sold to Mammoth Hockey and provide an accounting of the company’s sales and profits.
“Your use of the name ‘Utah Mammoth’ in connection with hockey-related goods is highly likely to confuse consumers into thinking that your company is somehow related to or endorsed, licensed, sponsored, or otherwise associated with Mammoth Hockey,” the letter said. “Such confusion risks the appropriation of the mark’s goodwill that Mammoth Hockey has built up in the mark for more than 10 years.”
In the complaint as well as a response letter to Mammoth Hockey on June 23, SEG stated that Mammoth Hockey does not own any trademarks for the name, and that its rights are based solely upon the demonstration of common law usage — something that Mammoth Hockey also stated in its June 10 letter.
SEG claimed that Mammoth Hockey voiced support, both publicly and privately, for the NHL team’s use of the name. It referenced a June 7, 2024 Facebook post in which Mammoth Hockey had a screenshot of an article listing the potential team names, with “Mammoth” circled in yellow. The caption read, “We’re pretty partial to this one 😜“.
The complaint also includes screenshots of a series of LinkedIn messages and emails between Mammoth Hockey’s founder, Erik Olson, and Rachel Moffitt, executive assistant to Utah Mammoth president of hockey operations Chris Armstrong. In the messages, exchanged several weeks before the team officially announced its name, Olson requested to talk about a collaboration between the two companies if they ended up choosing “Mammoth” as the name.
Mammoth Hockey argued in a July 31 response letter that SEG had mischaracterized the nature of those messages, and that they were observations, rather than endorsements. It contended that consumers will confuse the marks of the two companies and that it would have a “detrimental effect” on Mammoth Hockey’s business.
“Hockey enthusiasts who pledge support for a team other than Utah Mammoth will not purchase goods from our client due to the consumer’s mistaken belief that such a purchase would support a rival team,” according to Mammoth Hockey.
SEG provided the following statement to the Deseret News on Aug. 5:
“The Utah Mammoth filed an action in the U.S. District Court for the District of Utah seeking a declaratory judgment that use of the trademark Utah Mammoth does not violate any rights asserted by a third party.
“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. We have taken this action only after careful consideration based on the defendant’s position. We are not able to comment further on ongoing legal matters.”
Mammoth Hockey did not immediately respond for comment.