Utah’s NHL team files lawsuit to settle ‘Mammoth’ trademark dispute with hockey bag company

Related video: Utah Mammoth revealed as hockey team’s new name

SALT LAKE CITY (ABC4) — Utah’s newest professional sports team, the Utah Mammoth, filed a complaint earlier this month, aiming to settle a trademark dispute with a specialty seller of high-end hockey bags regarding the team’s name.

Mammoth Hockey, LLC, a Portland, Oregon-based company, allegedly demanded that Utah Mammoth stop using the “Mammoth” name, claiming there was a likelihood of confusion between the names and services.

“It is highly likely that consumers will confuse the two marks, risking our client’s business and operations,” lawyers for Mammoth Hockey wrote in an email between the companies. They later added, “The likelihood of confusion will have a detrimental effect on our client’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 the lawsuit, Mammoth Hockey threatened Utah Mammoth with litigation but did not provide any timeline for when or where.

Utah Mammoth, however, argued that Mammoth Hockey was initially supportive of the name. In one instance during the year-long naming process for the team, Mammoth Hockey posted a screenshot, circling Utah Mammoth in a list of proposed names, saying, “We’re pretty partial to this one,” with a winking emoji.

In another instance, Mammoth Hockey co-founder Erik Olson reached out to Rachel Moffit, Utah Mammoth’s Executive Assistant to the Presidents, saying, “It would be cool to talk about a possible collaboration,” should Mammoth be selected as the team’s official name.

However, despite the initial support, Mammoth Hockey changed its tune in June 2025, after Mammoth was adopted by the Utah hockey club, according to the lawsuit. In emails provided through the complaint, Mammoth Hockey asserted the social media post was simply an observation and not an endorsement. The company also said the potential collaboration was offered “precisely because of the likelihood of confusion between the marks.”

“The uncertainty created by Defendant’s actions, which has persisted for months, with no action as of yet, has become intolerable,” wrote attorneys for Utah Mammoth in the lawsuit. The complaint further asserts that the two logos and services provided are significantly different, arguing that it is unlikely that there would be any confusion among consumers.

Utah Mammoth is asking the U.S. District Court to simply settle the dispute in its complaint under the U.S. Declaratory Judgment Act.

ABC4 has reached out to Mammoth Hockey for comment and has yet to hear back at the time of publication.

Utah Mammoth was first introduced as a potential name for the state’s NHL team in 2024, when the team began a fan-voting process to choose the team’s identity. By June of that year, Mammoth was one of six finalists and made the final cut of three names in January 2025.

Mammoth Hockey began operation in 2014 with the launch of its first-ever hockey equipment bag. However, according to the lawsuit, Mammoth Hockey does not maintain and never filed a trademark application for its “Mammoth” design, which prominently features a red forward-facing mammoth.