Yetis is officially no longer an option for Utah Hockey Club.
The trademark application for “Utah Yetis” was rejected by the United States Patent and Trademark Office on Jan. 9 for “likelihood of confusion” with the Yeti Coolers brand.
But Smith Entertainment Group had already been trying to strike a co-existence deal with the company which would allow both parties to use the trademark in the commercial market. The cooler company, however, would not agree to the suggested partnership and SEG made the business decision to drop the name as a choice for the identity of its new NHL team, the Utah franchise said Wednesday.
“We have engaged with Yeti Coolers extensively. The NHL has also helped engage with us with them,” said Mike Maughan, an executive with Smith Entertainment Group. “Their leadership made the decision that they didn’t want to have that co-existence agreement. …They have a unique trademark that allows them to prevent the use of the word Yeti or Yetis.”
Utah had the option to appeal to the USPTO within three months of the rejection to argue why there would not be confusion for the consumer. But since Yeti Coolers was unwilling to participate, that path became harder — if not impossible — because SEG could be blocked by the company that already owns the trademark.
(Rick Egan | The Salt Lake Tribune) Workers switch hockey merchandise for Utah Jazz merchandise after the Utah Hockey Club game on Friday, Dec 27, 2024.
“The name of the team is one thing, but it’s all of the merch, all of the clothing, the pucks and the mini sticks and all of those things. It’s a little hard to launch a brand if you don’t have all of that stuff ready to go,” Maughan said. “Because Yeti Coolers determined that they did not want to enter into a co-existence agreement, it put those things on hold and we decided to move on from the name Yeti.”
So, what comes next?
SEG committed to involving fans in the name-selection process since the organization’s inception in Utah and it is continuing on that mission. For four games at Delta Center (Jan. 29, Jan. 31, Feb. 2 and Feb. 4), fans will be able to vote between the remaining top three names and logos.
The final names in the running are Utah Hockey Club, Utah Mammoth and Utah Wasatch.
“We’ve replaced the name Yeti with Wasatch. It still allows us to honor the mythical snow creature idea from that with a distinctly Utah appeal,” Maughan said. “We could very easily just go out there and choose a name. But Ryan and Ashley made this commitment that hockey is a community asset and they wanted to do something that’s never been done in the history of professional sports which is invite fans to be part of this incredibly interactive and exciting process to help pick a name.”
(Francisco Kjolseth | The Salt Lake Tribune) Utah fans cheer as the Utah Hockey Club scores during an NHL hockey game against the Calgary Flames at the Delta Center in Salt Lake City on Wednesday, Oct. 30, 2024. Utah won 5-1.
The voting will only happen at the Delta Center. SEG did not make it a public survey because it wants to protect the spreading of the logos. Stations with iPads will be set up on every floor of the arena and will be available from the time doors open, throughout the intermissions and periods, until the game ends.
Fans will be asked to put their phones away while they take the survey and there will be two people staffing each iPad to ensure each individual’s choice is kept private.
The short survey includes a number of questions and images that ask fans to choose between the different designs, names and jerseys. The Mammoth option has a unique logo whereas the Utah Hockey Club and Wasatch logos are the same. Utah’s colors of Rock Black, Salt White and Mountain Blue will remain the same no matter which name is chosen.
This is the fourth iteration of the name-selection survey done by SEG. The first saw thousands of people respond to team owner Ryan Smith’s tweet with whatever names they wanted. Next, the top 20 names were selected and those were sent out in a survey. Then, the top six names went out in a survey. Now, fans are tasked with selecting from the top three.
(Francisco Kjolseth | The Salt Lake Tribune) The new Utah hockey club locker room is pictured at the Delta Center on Friday, Oct. 25, 2024, in Salt Lake City.
“This is the next iteration for sure. Could it be the final iteration? Potentially,” Maughan said. “We’ve said all along that we don’t anticipate revealing the name during this season. We’ll do that in advance of next season. But the survey itself we anticipate will be open for the next week.”
Over the next four games in which the survey will be open to fans at the Delta Center, Maughan estimated 15,000 people signed up to be there each night, adding up to around 60,000 votes if everyone participates. Utah Hockey Club’s players and coaches have also taken the survey.
“The fans will choose the name,” Maughan said. “Anyone [at the game] who wants to be able to take it will be able to.”
As stated, this new phase of the naming process does not affect the timeline of the name reveal and will also not delay the production of merchandise with the new team name. SEG said that through partnerships with the NHL and Fanatics, they anticipate the team “will be on track in all of those regards.”
