Fan Controlled Football Trademarks
Please note: Gerben IP does not represent Fan Controlled Football. This page is provided for informational purposes and reflects information available in public USPTO records.
April 23, 2024
Fan Controlled Football is a developer of a sports application designed to use live league games to engage fans. The company uses its application to stream live games on an interactive video overlay. Fans can use this overlay to call the plays in real-time and determine the name of each team, its coach, logo, and players.
Fans can also make a rooster through a fan-run draft, enabling eSports players and gamers to get involved. The community can also interact with their favorite teams.
Fan Controlled Football (FCF) was created in 2017. All games are played in Atlanta, Georgia, at the Pullman Yards and broadcast on NBCLX, Twitch, FuboTV, DAZN, and Peacock.
Players in the 7-on7 professional league earn a minimum of $400 weekly plus board and room, with coaches making $3500 monthly with a meal plan and housing. Let’s look into the company’s history, league seasons, and trademarks.
Fan Controlled Football History
Comedian Steve Hofstetter first mentioned the Fan Controlled Football concept in 2008 through a satirical piece covered by New York Times. The idea was then known as Project Fanchise.
The project started as a simple website built by Grant Cohen. One of the initial investors was lawyer Joe Scura.
Project Fanchise received new media coverage in 2010 when it was featured in GOOD Magazine. The article described the group’s business plan, which asked fans to invest in the purchasing or creation of a minor league baseball team, which would be publicly owned and operated.
Sadly, these efforts bore no fruit, and the project ultimately failed after it was determined that purchasing an existing team would be too costly.
However, in 2015, Sohrob Fraudi, an Arena Football League team minority owner, contacted Cohen to revive the project. Project Fanchise purchased an expansion team in April 2016, for the 2017 season, in the Indoor Football League.
The company launched a mobile app for the subscribed fans to vote on crucial aspects such as team colors, naming the team, and hiring the coach before the season premiers. This team became the Salt Lake Screaming Eagles, and fans had control over the plays they could run.
This experience proved Project Fanchise’s concept successful. Before the season started, the company had also acquired Colorado Crush but did not incorporate it into the system at the time.
On April 20, 2017, a Wall Street Journal article reported that the company had plans to launch a new league called the Interactive Football League. Colorado Crush and the Screaming Eagles finished the 2017 Indoor season before Fanchise folded them and began work on the new league.
The Interactive Football League ran for months before it was renamed the Electronic Football League (eFL). In November 2017, the company settled on Fan Controlled Football. It had eight new teams with plans to play all of its games in only one city. FCF decided to play all games in Las Vegas, with fans calling the plays while watching the game on Twitch.
The initial start of the Fan Controlled Football league was planned for 2018, but the launch had to be postponed. During the delay, Fan Controlled Football gained popularity and endorsements from current and former professional athletes such as Chad Johnson, Richard Sherman, and Marshawn Lynch.
The league also acquired new investors such as Verizon Ventures, Lightspeed Venture Partners, Basecamp 2, Correlation Ventures, Next10 Ventures, Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian, and Bleacher Report co-founder Dave Finnochio.
Fan Controlled Football Seasons
Fan Controlled Football has run two successful seasons. Its inaugural season started on February 13, 2021, with four teams squaring off in a 12-game format spanning more than six weeks.
Apart from internet streaming on VENN and Twitch, which were the company’s main broadcasting channels, they also aired reruns on FTF (For the Fans). FTF is the online presence for Next Level Sports.
Through its first five weeks, FCF enjoyed a steady increase in viewership, from 735,000 viewers in the first week to 2.1 million during playoffs. The Wild Aces won the season, beating Glacier Boyz 46-40 in the league’s final. Fans also voted them the People’s Champion.
Shawn Liotta and John Jenkins served as coaching consultants for the league during its inaugural season. Jenkins played a prominent on-air role during the league’s telecasts.
The league’s 2022 season, dubbed “Season V2.0,” was scheduled to start in the Fall of 2021. However, it was postponed to Spring 2022 to avoid interference with NFL’s Super Bowl.
Fan Controlled Football Trademarks
FCF has sought or obtained federal trademark registration for about 26 trademarks. They include “FAN IQ,” “Z ZAPPERS,” and “8OKI.”
On August 12, 2020, FCF sought federal trademark registration for “FAN IQ.” The company intends to use the trademark to provide an incentive-based rewards program through the issuance and processing of loyalty points if you participate in the company’s services or purchase its goods or services online.
Fan Controlled Football also sought federal trademark registration for “Z ZAPPERS” on November 25, 2020, and intends to use the trademark for sporting and paper goods related to football, men’s, women’s, and children’s clothing, and toys and sporting goods related to football.
Please note: While we make every effort to ensure that the information provided is accurate and up-to-date, we cannot be held responsible for its accuracy or completeness. If you have any questions regarding a specific entity in Gerben's Trademark Library®, please contact us and we will work with you to provide the information you need.
IC 041. US 100 101 107. G & S Entertainment services, namely, providing podcasts in the field of basketball.
IC 009. US 021 023 026 036 038. G & S Downloadable software, namely, mobile applications for mobile electronic devices, featuring a platform whereby users can control and participate in sports leagues, namely, basketball, view sporting events, and purchase tickets to those events.
IC 028. US 022 023 038 050. G & S Sporting goods, namely, basketballs.
IC 042. US 100 101. G & S Software as a service featuring a software platform whereby users can control and participate in a sports leagues, namely, basketball, view sporting events, and purchase tickets to those events.
IC 009. US 021 023 026 036 038. G & S toys and sporting goods related to football, namely, football helmets.
IC 016. US 002 005 022 023 029 037 038 050. G & S paper goods related to football, namely, printed books in the field of football.
IC 025. US 022 039. G & S men's, women's and children's clothing, namely, hats, shirts, pants, shorts, t-shirts, hoodies, and tank tops.
IC 028. US 022 023 038 050. G & S toys and sporting goods related to football, namely, footballs.
IC 041. US 100 101 107. G & S entertainment services, namely, arranging and conducting of football games, fan experiences related thereto, and football exhibitions.
IC 009. US 021 023 026 036 038. G & S toys and sporting goods related to football, namely, football helmets.
IC 016. US 002 005 022 023 029 037 038 050. G & S paper goods related to football, namely, printed books in the field of football.
IC 025. US 022 039. G & S men's, women's and children's clothing, namely, hats, shirts, pants, shorts, t-shirts, hoodies, and tank tops.
IC 028. US 022 023 038 050. G & S toys and sporting goods related to football, namely, footballs.
IC 041. US 100 101 107. G & S entertainment services, namely, arranging and conducting of football games, fan experiences related thereto, and football exhibitions.
IC 009. US 021 023 026 036 038. G & S toys and sporting goods related to football, namely, football helmets.
IC 016. US 002 005 022 023 029 037 038 050. G & S paper goods related to football, namely, printed books in the field of football.
IC 025. US 022 039. G & S men's, women's and children's clothing, namely, hats, shirts, pants, shorts, t-shirts, hoodies, and tank tops.
IC 028. US 022 023 038 050. G & S toys and sporting goods related to football, namely, footballs.
IC 041. US 100 101 107. G & S entertainment services, namely, arranging and conducting of football games, fan experiences related thereto, and football exhibitions.
IC 025. US 022 039. G & S men's, women's and children's clothing, namely, hats, shirts, pants, shorts, t-shirts, hoodies, and tank tops. FIRST USE: 20201202. FIRST USE IN COMMERCE: 20201202.
IC 041. US 100 101 107. G & S entertainment services, namely, arranging and conducting of football games, fan experiences being ticket reservation and booking services for sporting events, live audience sessions for sporting events related thereto, and football exhibitions. FIRST USE: 20201202. FIRST USE IN COMMERCE: 20201202.
IC 009. US 021 023 026 036 038. G & S Downloadable software, namely, mobile applications for mobile electronic devices, featuring a platform whereby users can control and participate in sports leagues, namely, football, view sporting events, and purchase tickets to those events; football helmets. FIRST USE: 20210206. FIRST USE IN COMMERCE: 20210206.
IC 025. US 022 039. G & S Men's, women's, and children's clothing, namely, headwear, namely, headbands, caps and knit hats, tops, namely, t-shirts, tank tops, golf shirts, knit shirts, jerseys and sweatshirts, bottoms, namely, jeans, shorts, and sweatpants, outerwear, namely, fleece jackets, parkas, wind breaker jackets, rain jackets, and ponchos, pajamas, and gloves. FIRST USE: 20201231. FIRST USE IN COMMERCE: 20201231.
IC 028. US 022 023 038 050. G & S Sporting goods, namely, footballs. FIRST USE: 20210114. FIRST USE IN COMMERCE: 20210114.
IC 041. US 100 101 107. G & S Organizing sporting events, namely, football. FIRST USE: 20210213. FIRST USE IN COMMERCE: 20210213.
IC 025. US 022 039. G & S men's, women's and children's clothing, namely, hats, shirts, pants, shorts, t-shirts, hoodies, and tank tops. FIRST USE: 20201202. FIRST USE IN COMMERCE: 20201202.
IC 009. US 021 023 026 036 038. G & S sporting goods related to football, namely, football helmets. FIRST USE: 20201202. FIRST USE IN COMMERCE: 20201202.
IC 025. US 022 039. G & S men's, women's and children's clothing, namely, hats, shirts, pants, shorts, t-shirts, hoodies, and tank tops. FIRST USE: 20201202. FIRST USE IN COMMERCE: 20201202.
IC 041. US 100 101 107. G & S entertainment services, namely, arranging and conducting of football games, fan experiences being ticket reservation and booking services for sporting events, live audience sessions for sporting events related thereto, and football exhibitions. FIRST USE: 20201202. FIRST USE IN COMMERCE: 20201202.
IC 009. US 021 023 026 036 038. G & S Downloadable software, namely, mobile applications for mobile electronic devices, featuring a platform whereby users can control and participate in sports leagues, namely, football, view sporting events, and purchase tickets to those events; football helmets. FIRST USE: 20210206. FIRST USE IN COMMERCE: 20210206.
IC 025. US 022 039. G & S Men's, women's, and children's clothing, namely, headwear, namely, headbands, caps and knit hats, tops, namely, t-shirts, tank tops, golf shirts, knit shirts, jerseys and sweatshirts, bottoms, namely, jeans, shorts, and sweatpants, outerwear, namely, fleece jackets, parkas, wind breaker jackets, rain jackets, and ponchos, pajamas, and gloves. FIRST USE: 20201203. FIRST USE IN COMMERCE: 20201203.
IC 028. US 022 023 038 050. G & S Sporting goods, namely, footballs. FIRST USE: 20210114. FIRST USE IN COMMERCE: 20210114.
IC 041. US 100 101 107. G & S Organizing sporting events, namely, football. FIRST USE: 20210206. FIRST USE IN COMMERCE: 20210206.
IC 042. US 100 101. G & S Software as a service featuring a software platform whereby users can control and participate in a sports leagues, namely, football, view sporting events, and purchase tickets to those events. FIRST USE: 20210206. FIRST USE IN COMMERCE: 20210206.
IC 042. US 100 101. G & S Software as a service featuring a software platform whereby users can control and participate in a sports leagues, namely, football, view sporting events, and purchase tickets to those events. FIRST USE: 20210206. FIRST USE IN COMMERCE: 20210206.