The unveiling of the NHL's 31st franchise hit another speed bump.
Weeks after a somewhat botched reveal of the Vegas team's name and logo, there's believed to be a snag in regards to trademarking the Golden Knights.
A report by SB Nation's Mary Clarke on Wednesday pointed to a United States Patent and Trademark office document that apparently denied an application filed by Black Knight Sports and Entertainment - team owner Bill Foley's company - because the Vegas Golden Knights mark too closely resembles that of the The College of Saint Rose Golden Knights, based in Albany, N.Y.
Here are the two looks side by side.
US Patent & Trademark Office has initially rejected Vegas Golden Knights trademark based on confusion with St. Rose College's trademark pic.twitter.com/Dg7DmtkUfo
— Darren Rovell (@darrenrovell) December 8, 2016
Senior vice president and former NHL player Murray Craven doesn't appear overly concerned with the development, however.
"We believe, at the end of the day, all parties will embrace the fact that we are the Vegas Golden Knights and this absolutely will work out," Craven told Ed Graney of the Las Vegas Review-Journal. "I hope people don't overreact to this at all. We believe everyone will be satisfied. We are only going to enhance the name Golden Knights for everyone. That's our goal. I won't put words in Bill Foley's mouth, but we all believe this will be fine."
In the end, money will likely talk here.
St. Rose College has a $9 million deficit & just cut $340,000 in athletic scholarships. Vegas Golden Knights will, at worse, strike deal.
— Darren Rovell (@darrenrovell) December 8, 2016
The NHL is expected to make a formal statement Thursday, reports TSN's Darren Dreger.
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