Vegas Golden Knights' trademark request denied by U.S. patent office; Associated Press via ESPN, 12/8/16

Associated Press via ESPN; Vegas Golden Knights' trademark request denied by U.S. patent office:

"The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office has denied the Vegas Golden Knights' trademark application a little more than two weeks after the new NHL franchise unveiled its name and logo.

The office on Wednesday cited potential confusion with the team name for the College of Saint Rose in New York, which is also the Golden Knights. The Las Vegas franchise is set to take the ice next season...

The patent office said the similarities were too many to overlook.

"In this case, the marks are identical in part, sharing the same dominant wording and overall commercial impression," the office said in denying the application. "The nature of the applicant's and registrant's services is similar; both offer sports entertainment of a kind available in the same venues, broadcast on television, and are generally available to the same class of consumers. Accordingly, the examining attorney concludes that there is a likelihood of confusion between the applicant's and registrant's marks.""

Las Vegas NHL team files trademark applications for Silver Knights, Desert Knights and Golden Knights nicknames; IPWatchdog, 9/26/16

Steve Brachmann, IPWatchdog; Las Vegas NHL team files trademark applications for Silver Knights, Desert Knights and Golden Knights nicknames:

"A series of 12 trademark applications filed by Black Knight Sports and Entertainment, LLC, the consortium which owns the new NHL franchise, with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office gives us a good idea of the three team nicknames which have made it to the final round of consideration. According to these trademark applications, the NHL team in Las Vegas will take one of the following names: Silver Knights, Golden Knights or Desert Knights. Interestingly, the Las Vegas franchise cannot use Knights by itself as the team will play in Canada and the Canadian rights to that name are held by the London Knights of the Ontario Hockey League...

A search of trademarks held by other NHL teams shows that the Las Vegas franchise will likely apply for many more trademark protections after a team nickname is officially announced. The Pittsburgh Penguins, the NHL’s reigning Stanley Cup Champions, have filed 64 trademark applications with the USPTO, 41 of which have resulted in registered trademarks and 40 of which are still live whether they’re registered or still in the application phase."