Army Officially Opposes Vegas Golden Knights Trademark

[Jarey Curry]

I certainly wouldnt think so however in this day & age.... Lawyers..... There is precedent in the NHL with the Black Hawks... the original owner, Major Frederic McLaughlin naming them after his WW1 Machine Gun Regiment... which in turn was named after Chief Black Hawk of the Sauk Indian Tribe...

Its an urban myth that the Maple Leafs were named after a non-existent "Maple Leaf Regiment" or that the Maple Leaf name & colors chosen by Conn Smythe as he was inspired by Canadian Forces during WW1 who wore a Maple Leaf badge on their uniforms, which they did but was not the reason why the Leafs were named the Leafs...

What he did in fact was to lift the name & colors from the Toronto Maple Leafs Baseball Club that had been around for decades & was extremely popular with a huge fan base. Pro hockey relatively new, some failures during the 19 teen's & 20's in Toronto, wasnt a "sure bet" so in basically "swiping" the name & colors without any compensation, he hoped to tap into the TML Baseball Clubs fan base.

All of the above of course nearly 100yrs ago, today, highly sophisticated, and you dont mess around with stuff like this... So just why Foley was ever permitted by the NHL to just charge ahead with a name that could very easily land them all in hot water I have absolutely no idea.

The League likes to boast about how careful they are about such issues & youve just got to figure they had to have been provided with legal opinions from top litigators in the field that it was all perfectly kosher, would withstand any potential challenges from the United States Army Air Corp or whomever else....

I guess we'll just see about that.... But it begs the question... why would you invite this kind of trouble to begin with at all when there were so many other beyond excellent names & themes you couldve run to the bank with?

The rich kid with the money was obsessed with the name knights.... It was so good name that even though golden knights wasn't nowhere as good, it still had the knights in that name. I personally would have loved the name Las Vegas Knights, as much as I cringe over the name Golden Knights.

 

[CrazyCanucks]

Don't get me started on Ottawa. I think it is ridiculous that Saskatchewan will not let the Ottawa franchise reclaim the name Rough Riders, with all the history that anme has in the national capital.

More like laughingstock. Its a 9 team league! You cant have 2 teams with the same name! Western Rougies. Eastern Roughies! Mickeymouse is what that was. RedBlacks is better than going back to rough riders, but even RedBlacks is dumb!

 

[Acesolid]

Don't get me started on Ottawa. I think it is ridiculous that Saskatchewan will not let the Ottawa franchise reclaim the name Rough Riders, with all the history that anme has in the national capital.

You know, I went to see CFL Football in Ottawa in the early 2000's when the team in Ottawa was called the "Ottawa Renegades", and in my opinion that's a much better name then both the previous and later name.

RedBlacks sounds too much like a University team name. Like my own Laval U. Rouge et Or.

Anyways, maybe that's a solution for the Golden Knights: name them the Vegas Grey and Gold? Or maybe Vegas Gold and Grey?

 

[superdeluxe]

Eeesssh that comment from Vegas about people not confusing parachutes with a hockey team. Its like a Gong show.

 

[Melrose Munch]

Las Vegas Thunder!

 

[YEM]

shame there weren't about a couple of dozen other fitting names for the new Las Vegas franchise

 

[Roadrage]

Desert Knights!

 

[Wingsfan 4 life]

Is anyone going to confuse an NHL hockey team with a military parachute team?

I dunno, you tell me.

If one was nearsighted, those Nashville jersey's would probably look awfully similar.

 

[Ciao]

Seems very strange to spend half a billion on a sports franchise and fail to secure legal rights to the name before the team begins play.

What planet are they on?

 

[WildGopher]

. . . I personally would have loved the name Las Vegas Knights . . .

You might just get your wish. Knights is a more generic name, and there aren't the same trademark issues with it. When this story broke, I was thinking that a solution that would let Vegas keep some of the trademark they've built, while agreeably not violating others' trademarks, would be to change the name to Las Vegas Knights, make some relatively minor adjustments to some visual aspects of their trademark (but no reason they can't keep the "V") and go on being the "Knights" in much the same way teams are affectionately called "Leafs," "Hawks," etc. You don't want to lose the entire nickname with all the excitement the team has generated, and they don't have to. There was no real loss when the Mighty Ducks became the Ducks, or baseball's Devil Rays became the Rays.

 

[MNNumbers]

Probably the Umbrella company's name is a problem as well. And, perhaps the color scheme. But if they are just "Knights", that should work.

 

[LeHab]

Seems very strange to spend half a billion on a sports franchise and fail to secure legal rights to the name before the team begins play.

What planet are they on?

Or maybe it is a ploy by both to promote the brand. Apparent dispute brings Free publicity.

 

[Spartachat]

Well the Golden Knights did parachute their way to the top of the NHL standings....

 

[Setec Astronomy]

Seems very strange to spend half a billion on a sports franchise and fail to secure legal rights to the name before the team begins play.

What planet are they on?

Vegas registered the trademark, the trademark office eventually approved, and now Army is opposing it. Basically, you can’t register a trademark until, at earliest, shortly before you’re going to actually use it. So, it has nothing to do with not having your ducks in a row.

Vegas should win this, and win it easily. The issue is not whether the names are similar or even identical but whether there’s going to be confusion. And there isn’t for the same reason people don’t confuse the NFL’s Denver Broncos with NCAA’s Boise State Broncos.

 

[AveryQuietMan]

this is all planned. do any of you really think this wasnt coming? any press is good press. whats the 'worst' that comes of this? they change their name and/or colours leading to them selling x2 goods. all the while the public acts like its a bad thing, buy new merch, while the men behind the curtain all buy new yachts and the first season jerseys become a novelty. they win. you are pawns in their game. its really sad to see how easily the public is deceived these days.

 

[Killion]

Vegas registered the trademark, the trademark office eventually approved, and now Army is opposing it. Basically, you can’t register a trademark until, at earliest, shortly before you’re going to actually use it. So, it has nothing to do with not having your ducks in a row.

Vegas should win this, and win it easily. The issue is not whether the names are similar or even identical but whether there’s going to be confusion. And there isn’t for the same reason people don’t confuse the NFL’s Denver Broncos with NCAA’s Boise State Broncos.

Ya, well, Sorry Councillor.... But the US Army seems to think so.... Let me ax you... Why invite such trouble?

 

[Setec Astronomy]

Ya, well, Sorry Councillor.... But the US Army seems to think so.... Let me ax you... Why invite such trouble?

It’s lawyers for the Army, basically their in-house counsel. They don’t get any special consideration because it’s the Army.

The legal standard is that they have to demonstrate likelihood of confusion. Highly unlikely.

 

[Killion]

It’s lawyers for the Army, basically their in-house counsel. They don’t get any special consideration because it’s the Army.

The legal standard is that they have to demonstrate likelihood of confusion. Highly unlikely.

So you think based on your response the Army doesnt have any Sharp Practicing Litigation Lawyers amongst their ranks... nothing but policy wonks with law degree's"?.... Guess again Setec....

Astronomy Domine....

 

[FloridaCat]

I bought a ticket and attended the Rangers versus Golden Knights in Vegas last Sunday. I expected to see combat between the elite rapid deployment force of the US Army and the Army's elite parachute demonstration team. Sadly it was just an NHL game. The parachute team won 2-1.

 

[Lempo]

this is all planned. do any of you really think this wasnt coming? any press is good press. whats the 'worst' that comes of this? they change their name and/or colours leading to them selling x2 goods. all the while the public acts like its a bad thing, buy new merch, while the men behind the curtain all buy new yachts and the first season jerseys become a novelty. they win. you are pawns in their game. its really sad to see how easily the public is deceived these days.

Whoever it was that told us to always attribute to intentional malignancy what initially seems like your usual variety incompetence got it absolutely right.

 

[Setec Astronomy]

So you think based on your response the Army doesnt have any Sharp Practicing Litigation Lawyers amongst their ranks... nothing but policy wonks with law degree's"?.... Guess again Setec....

Astronomy Domine....

It has nothing to do with whether the Army’s lawyers are good or bad. They represent a client who told them to do this for any number of reasons we don’t know. The lawyers only need a good faith legal basis to challenge the registration, which is a pretty low standard to not get in trouble ethically. I imagine there will be some sort of settlement, which does not involve Vegas changing its name (it’s only the name that’s being registered and not it’s logo or uniform designs).

 

[BJNT]

Las Vegas Thunder!

Oklahoma City Thunder could challenge that though. Then they’d be back to the same position they’re in now.

 

[CHRDANHUTCH]

Oklahoma City Thunder could challenge that though. Then they’d be back to the same position they’re in now.

what trademark did the Thunder violate?

 

[LeHab]

If anyone is interested you can search TM office here:

US: Trademark Electronic Search System (TESS)
Canada: Search - Canadian Trademarks Database - Intellectual property and copyright - Canadian Intellectual Property Office - Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada

Type in "Golden Knights" and will get the whole history of past expired, current or in progress TM.

Team got the TM for "IC 025. US 022 039. G & S: Clothing, namely, bandanas, beach cover-ups, belts, body suits, boxer shorts, caps, cloth bibs, coats, dresses, footwear, ear muffs, gloves, hats, headbands, hosiery, housecoats, jackets, jerseys, leggings, leotards, mittens, nightshirts, pajamas, pants, rain coats, rain wear, robes, scarves, shirts, shorts, skirts, socks, suits, sun visors, suspenders, sweaters, sweatpants, sweatshirts, swimsuits, swim trunks, t-shirts, ties, toques, underwear, vests, warm-up suits and wristbands"

Opposition is for "IC 041. US 100 101 107. G & S: Entertainment services, namely, professional ice hockey exhibitions"

In Canada, TMs are at "Searched" stage. You can also view London Knights TM there.

 

[BattleBorn]

If anyone is interested you can search TM office here:

US: Trademark Electronic Search System (TESS)
Canada: Search - Canadian Trademarks Database - Intellectual property and copyright - Canadian Intellectual Property Office - Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada

Type in "Golden Knights" and will get the whole history of past expired, current or in progress TM.

Team got the TM for "IC 025. US 022 039. G & S: Clothing, namely, bandanas, beach cover-ups, belts, body suits, boxer shorts, caps, cloth bibs, coats, dresses, footwear, ear muffs, gloves, hats, headbands, hosiery, housecoats, jackets, jerseys, leggings, leotards, mittens, nightshirts, pajamas, pants, rain coats, rain wear, robes, scarves, shirts, shorts, skirts, socks, suits, sun visors, suspenders, sweaters, sweatpants, sweatshirts, swimsuits, swim trunks, t-shirts, ties, toques, underwear, vests, warm-up suits and wristbands"

Opposition is for "IC 041. US 100 101 107. G & S: Entertainment services, namely, professional ice hockey exhibitions"

In Canada, TMs are at "Searched" stage. You can also view London Knights TM there.

There's nothing inaccurate here, but it's worth noting that the Vegas Golden Knights are trying to register the trademark and the Army is opposing the registration based on their (unregistered) trademark. The DoD/Army has never registered the Golden Knights trademark, they just claimed it through use in commerce, just like anyone else can do. Claiming a trademark essentially provides you protection from someone else using your trademark in your market, where registration pretty much makes it a national protection.

Registration is not compulsory, it's just registration and you get the benefit of a federal trademark registration.

For that reason, you won't see the DoD/Army's trademark to the Golden Knights name in any trademark search. It's just a trademark, not a registered trademark. I'm guessing this is all happening so the Army can continue using the Golden Knights name for whatever purpose they choose without worrying about VGK's registered trademark if/when the registration is approved.

ESPN recently reported that the Army doesn't own the Golden Knights trademark, and while that's pretty much accurate, it doesn't change what's going on right now.