Vegas NHL team plans to act fast to keep ‘Golden Knights’ name
A representative for Las Vegas’ NHL team said Thursday the franchise plans to act fast after the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office denied its applications to register the name Vegas Golden Knights.
The office denied the request by the team Wednesday because the name and logo were deemed too similar to those used by The College of Saint Rose in Albany, New York, which also uses the Golden Knights nickname.
The team has six months to prepare its response, but Fidelity National’s chief legal officer Peter Sadowski, the company owned by Golden Knights majority owner Bill Foley, said it could be ready “within a matter of a week or so.”
“The issue is there a risk of confusion between The College of Saint Rose Golden Knights in Albany, New York, which is a small college that does not have a hockey team, and the Vegas Golden Knights, which is a major NHL team in Las Vegas,” said Sadowski, whose firm also represents Vegas’ NHL franchise. “The answer is sort of pretty simple.”
The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office’s denial noted that Vegas Golden Knights would be used in connection with professional ice hockey, while The College of Saint Rose Golden Knights is for collegiate athletics.
The team will coordinate its response with the NHL, which released a statement Thursday from Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly that the league is standing by the name of its 31st franchise.
“We are currently reviewing the Trademark Office’s letter and will prepare a detailed response demonstrating why we continue strongly to believe the Vegas Golden Knights mark should be registered in co-existence with the college registration, just as a number of other nicknames currently co-exist in professional and college sports (particularly where there is no overlap as to the sport for which the nickname is being used),” Daly said in the statement. “That response is not due until June 7, 2017.
“We consider this a routine matter and it is not our intention to reconsider the name or logo of this franchise. We fully intend to proceed as originally planned, relying on our common law trademark rights as well as our state trademark registrations while we work through the process of addressing the question raised in the federal applications.”
NHL Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly has released a statement regarding the Vegas Golden Knights' trademark. https://t.co/w9zY8ppODn
— NHL (@NHL) December 8, 2016
The Las Vegas NHL team was aware of The College of Saint Rose Golden Knights when deciding on a nickname but did not reach out to the school. The team did reach out to and came to an agreement with Clarkson University, which also uses the Golden Knights nickname, because of its strong Division I men’s and women’s hockey programs.
Introducing ourselves. We’re the Golden Knights of Saint Rose. You may have heard of us. Proud of our name and heritage. pic.twitter.com/pore2Q5E0X
— Saint Rose Athletics (@gogoldenknights) December 8, 2016
“With respect to Saint Rose, their situation is completely different,” Sadowski said. “They don’t have a hockey team at all. There was no reason for us to talk to them.”
Lisa Thomson, Chief of Staff to the university president at The College of Saint Rose, said while the school did not initiate any legal action, it is willing to let things plays out.
“It is our team, our nickname, our logo, and we love it,” Thomson said. “I guess we will see what happens. It’s the beginning. For us, this is a process and not a project.
“To use a sports phrase, it’s the first inning. We didn’t initiate all this. We are just responding to news. We never heard from the (Las Vegas) franchise. Anything is possible, I assume. It’s Day 1, but I know where our Golden Knights are.”
Saint Rose by any other name is still a Golden Knight. pic.twitter.com/cRhplCQe5A
— Saint Rose Athletics (@gogoldenknights) December 8, 2016
With our proud history, no wonder you love our name. pic.twitter.com/7ZuaP0mPkV
— Saint Rose Athletics (@gogoldenknights) December 8, 2016
Sadowski said the Vegas Golden Knights were not planning on striking a deal — financial or otherwise — with the school.
“I don’t think a deal is necessary because really there is no deal to be had for a right that we believe does not exist,” Sadowski said.
The team will continue to sell merchandise as the response is prepared. Foley said the team sold $80,000 of merchandise during the Nov. 22 unveiling of the name, logos and colors at a ceremony in front of an estimated 5,000 fans at T-Mobile Arena.
The topic was trending Thursday afternoon at the NHL’s retail website, shop.nhl.com, where the phrase “Vegas Golden Knights” is included in the top four “Hot Searches.”
The team’s name had been the subject of much speculation since the NHL awarded Foley Las Vegas’ first major professional sports team June 22. He also owned the trademarks, domain names and copyrights for Silver and Desert Knights, but the team does not plan to change course.
“We feel strongly, the NHL feels strongly, that there is no issue here,” Sadowski said.
Review-Journal columnist Ed Graney contributed to this story. Contact reporter Ben Gotz at bgotz@reviewjournal.com. Follow @BenSGotz on Twitter.
RELATED
US patent office denies ‘Golden Knights’ trademark
NHL in Vegas
Complete coverage of hockey in Las Vegas
Want to keep up with all the hockey updates? Follow our Twitter: @HockeyinVegas
