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The Major Hockey League: Thin Line Between Inspiration and Infringement


 

Canadian-made TV show “Heated Rivalry” is introducing a new audience to the sport of ice hockey as the show focuses on rivals Ilya Rozanov of the Boston Raiders and Shane Hollander of the Montreal Metros. If you have never heard of these teams, it’s because they are part of the Major Hockey League (“MHL”), the show creator’s, Jacob Tierney’s, creative departure from the National Hockey League’s (“NHL” or the “League”) Boston Bruins and Montreal Canadiens.[2] However, the book that inspired the television series had originally renamed these teams as the Boston Bears and the Montreal Voyageurs, names that have a closer correlation to their real-life counterparts.

 

The names of the hockey teams introduced three issues regarding the teams’ names, hockey uniforms, and related apparel in the series. The NHL was generally called the “NHL” in the book series, the Game Changers, but in media the League owns the registered trademarks for both the NHL and National Hockey League.[3] Similarly, the books’ Montreal Voyageurs have the same name as an old American Hockey League (“AHL”) team as well as a current Canadian team called the CIH Academy Voyageurs.[4] While there is no Boston Bears team, bears and bruins are synonymous with the Boston Bruins having their own bear-themed alternate logo.[5] The Bruins’ bear logo specifically has federal trademark protection for “Entertainment services, in the nature of ice hockey exhibitions.”[6]

 

Real Life

Gamechangers Book Series

Heated Rivalry TV Show

National Hockey League (NHL)

“NHL”

Major Hockey League (MHL)

Boston Bruins

Boston Bears

Boston Raiders

Montreal Canadiens

Montreal Voyageurs

Montreal Metros

 

The author herself shares that the inspiration for the book was heavily based on the real-life rivalry between Canadian and Russian hockey players generally, as well as specifically between Washington Capitals’ captain Alexander Ovechkin and Pittsburgh Penguins’ captain Sidney Crosby.[7] As copyright protection cannot extend to historical facts; the use of storytelling in books or television shows allows for the expression of original scenes, character arcs, dialogue, and similar to be protected despite the original inspiration being real individuals.[8] This is best demonstrated by the story changing which countries competed against each other at the 2014 Sochi Olympic games as well as the United States winning gold in the story when Canada had actually won in 2014.

 

Originality is a subjective term open to various interpretations, but intellectual property law tends to support a broad definition based on some new element of input to establish a work as an original.[9] In books, a simple change from Bruins to Bears could fall within that wide net of “new” input. The recommendation is to receive the blessing of the trademark owner to use their marks in books, but that is not always necessary.[10] Trademarks in books typically only come into issue if the mark is associated with the title in a series of books or merchandise, and the names don’t relate to the underlying content of the story.[11] These are factors that are likely to cause confusion in the marketplace, which requires the heightened standard for creative use of marks.[12] However, this flexibility does not translate as easily to television where the adaption of uniforms, logos, and visual aids acts as an overall greater threat to confusion.[13] Now, a team like the Boston Bears with a bear logo could easily cause confusion for the Boston Bruins’ audience.

 

As a second season is highly anticipated, it will be interesting to see how the newest team introduced to the show is maintained or changed. Recently, the Ottawa Senators have displayed their support for the series, by selling Senators’ jerseys with the names and numbers of the lead characters from the series.[14] As a fundraiser for Ottawa Pride Hockey, this move by the Senators is a nod to the first season’s finale episode when one of the characters decides to join the Ottawa-based MHL team. While the book renamed the Ottawa-based team to be the Ottawa Centaurs, a playful use of name play, this partnership opens the door to an interesting sponsorship opportunity between the NHL and MHL.[15]



JUHI PATEL (editor-in-chief) is a 3L at Villanova University Charles Widger School of Law. She self-identifies as an off-brand New York Sports fan rooting on the Islanders, Nets, and Bills. She is a part of the Soccer Negotiation Competition Team as well as the executive boards for the Labor and Employment Law Society and IP Law Society.




References:

[2] Spare Parts, HEATED RIVALRY creator Jacob Tierney (FULL INTERVIEW), (Last accessed February 1, 2026) YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gpN4aGp8Q5w

[3] NATIONAL HOCKEY LEAGUE, Registration No. 3654768, USPTO.

[4] MINNESOTA VOYAGEURS (Expired), Serial No. 75369371, USPTO.

[5] BOSTON BRUINS, Registration No. 3517479, USPTO.

[6] Id.

[7] Rachel Reid, Frequently Asked Questions (Last accessed February 1, 2026) Rachel Reid Writes Romance. https://www.rachelreidwrites.com/faq

[8] Shervin Abachi, Inspiration vs. Infringement (Last accessed February 1, 2026) The Playrights Realm. https://www.playwrightsrealm.org/aspiring-playwrights-articles/inspiration-vs-infringement

[9] Feist Publications, Inc. v. Rural Tel. Serv. Co., 499 U.S. 340 (1991)

[11] Id.

[12] Id.

[13] Id.

[14] Julian McKenzie, Behind the Senators’ ‘Heated Rivalry’ jerseys that are flying off the shelves

[15] Id.


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