In a statement provided to the Deseret News via email Wednesday, Mammoth Hockey responded to the Utah Mammoth’s U.S. District Court filing, which calls for a decision on the NHL team’s use of the “Mammoth” name.
“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,” said Erik Olson, co-founder of Mammoth Hockey.
According to the suit, which was initiated by lawyers representing Smith Entertainment Group, Mammoth Hockey, a hockey bag manufacturer based out of Oregon, sent the Utah Mammoth a cease-and-desist letter for the use of the name, arguing that potential customers would confuse the two brands and that fans of rival teams would not purchase its products.
The equipment manufacturer asked that the team stop using the name, transfer all unsold merchandise to it, and provide copies of its accounting.
SEG’s response to the letter stated that it is the sole owner of all trademarks related to the name.
Although Mammoth Hockey has existed since at least 2014, it does not maintain any active trademarks from the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. Any claim the company has to the name is based on common law, which is much more difficult to defend than a granted trademark.
SEG also highlighted two instances in which Mammoth Hockey had seemingly shown support for the potential name choice: once in a 2024 Facebook post and again in a 2025 series of LinkedIn messages and emails with an SEG employee.
More than a month after SEG’s response, Mammoth Hockey argued back, saying that those messages were meant to signify observations, rather than support.
The next day, SEG filed the lawsuit, asking the court to declare that it has not infringed on Mammoth Hockey’s trademark or intellectual property rights.
“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,” the Utah Mammoth said in a statement to the Deseret News.