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NHL planning to respond to Vegas Golden Knights trademark denial

LAS VEGAS, NV - NOVEMBER 22: The team name and logo for the Vegas Golden Knights are displayed on T-Mobile Arena's video mesh wall after the Vegas Golden Knights was announced as the name for the Las Vegas NHL franchise at T-Mobile Arena on November 22, 2016 in Las Vegas, Nevada. The team will begin play in the 2017-18 season. (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images)

The NHL has responded to the news that the United States Patent and Trademark Office has denied the trademark request for the Golden Knights name due to similarities to the NCAA’s College of St. Rose Golden Knights.

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From NHL Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly:

“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). 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.”

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A statement from the Golden Knights Wednesday night to Alex Prewitt of Sports Illustrated also touched on similar nicknames coexisting in sports such as the UCLA Bruins and Boston Bruins and the University of Miami Hurricanes and Carolina Hurricanes.

Vegas senior vice president Murray Craven told the Las Vegas Review-Journal, “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. 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.”

It’s been an interesting start for the Vegas expansion franchise in their first six months in existence. In November, the U.S. Army’s Golden Knights parachute team announced they were “reviewing” the use of the team’s name — a matter that Foley isn’t too concerned about.

Now comes this news popping up two weeks after after the franchise officially unveiled the Golden Knights nickname and logo.

The Vegas expansion draft is set for mid-June, so you can bet the league will probably have this matter resolved one way or the other well before that June 7, 2017 deadline. Merchandise, by the way, will continue to be sold.

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Sean Leahy is the associate editor for Puck Daddy on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at puckdaddyblog@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!