Professional esports organization FaZe Clan found themselves in hot waters after FAZE Apparels, a prominent clothing brand based in San Francisco served them a lawsuit for trademark violation.
The trademark violation stems from the fact that official apparel sold by FaZe Clan had the words “Faze” on them, and not “Faze Clan” in its entirety. A number of cease-and-desist letters were sent to the organization by FAZE Apparels, first in 2014, and later in 2016. Despite that, FaZe Clan continued selling apparel, not regarding the fact that their application for trademark was rejected on grounds of confusion with the FAZE Apparels trademark.
FAZE Apparels demands include 2 million dollars for counterfeiting damages, besides attorney fees and other costs and expenses procured during the case.
FaZe Clan fired up with a countersuit, denying that FAZE Apparels had “superior rights” to the trademark. They will be seeking a cancellation of the relevant FAZE Apparel trademarks, as well as attorney fees and other expenses should it win the case.
FAZE Apparel was founded in 2007 and has sold merchandise online and in several stores worldwide since then.
FaZe Clan was founded in 2010 and has since become one of the most popular teams in esports – notably in Call of Duty and Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, where it has won several championships, and on YouTube, where it houses a number of content creators in its network.