Utah Mammoth caught up in another trademark dispute

It didn’t take long for Utah’s new NHL franchise to find itself in court. The Utah Mammoth have filed a lawsuit against a Canadian company called Mammoth Hockey, a hockey bag and gear brand that’s been around since 2014. The dispute is, of course, over naming rights, according to the Salt Lake City Tribune.

Oddly enough, Mammoth Hockey originally showed public support for the NHL franchise’s name choice on Instagram and even reached out on LinkedIn to discuss a potential collaboration. But according to court documents, the tone changed quickly. The Utah Mammoth allege that the company later threatened litigation in “some unknown forum, at some unknown time,” prompting the NHL team to take preemptive legal action.

At the heart of the lawsuit is the question of whether the team’s use of “Utah Mammoth” infringes on the established brand identity of Mammoth Hockey. and whether it could impact the company’s bottom line.

Mammoth Hockey argues that fans of other NHL teams might now avoid buying their products, assuming they’re tied exclusively to Utah.

The NHL franchise doesn’t buy it. In their response, they wrote:

“Utah Mammoth and the NHL believe strongly that we have the right to use the name Utah Mammoth under federal & state law, & that our use will not harm the defendant or its business in any way.”

This wouldn’t be the first time Utah is dealing with controversy around its name. When the team released a Qualtrics poll in May 2024 featuring 20 potential team names, it produced six finalists in June for another fan vote: Blizzard, Utah HC, Mammoth, Outlaws, Venom and Yeti. The latter was considered to be he team’s eventual name, even by its players. But Utah announced in January that it would not be moving forward with “Yeti” or “Yetis” as a nickname after the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office rejected a trademark application for “Utah Yetis” because of the “likelihood of confusion” for consumers to other companies and brands that use the name. Among those parties was Yeti Coolers LLC, which makes drinkware, coolers and clothing.

With Yeti and Yetis out, the team announced in January that Utah Hockey Club, Utah Mammoth and Utah Wasatch would be the finalists in a fan vote at Delta Center. Mammoth was officially chosen, but the issues over trademark is ongoing.

With just over a month to go before training camp, the legal dispute adds an unexpected wrinkle to iron out during the Utah Mammoth’s inaugural season preparations. While the case may not play out in court immediately, it could still create a distraction as the team tries to build momentum both on and off the ice ahead of 2025–26.