Atlanta FaZe facing logo copyright beef with clothing brand Alpha Forward

The Call of Duty team Atlanta FaZe has recently fazed the whole gaming community with a sudden copyright beef with a clothing brand Alpha Forward. It seems that the original “AF” logo, which is recognizable by almost every CoD League fan, might not belong to FaZe Clan — one of the biggest esports organizations in the world.

What happened?

On June 29, Twitter started buzzing about the logo similarities of Atlanta FaZe and the Alpha Forward clothing brand. The branding of Atlanta FaZe was created in 2019 with a logo designed by the owner of FaZe Clan club Tommy “Temperrr” Olivera, which allegedly symbolizes Atlanta’s rich culture. However, Alpha Forward was created in 2017, two years earlier than the logo of the esports team. 

Apart from the visual identity and different creation dates, Alpha Forward added fuel to the fire by revealing official its original patent and trademark documents that prove that the company owns the logo and that it was officially registered in 2017.

At the time of writing, neither Atlanta FaZe nor FaZe Clan provided a statement regarding the situation. Yousef Abdelfattah, the founder of FaZe Clan, only shared the first sketches of the logo, implying that it might have been just a big coincidence. 

Possible consequences

Speaking about consequences, there are multiple outcomes of how the situation might develop. One of the easiest ways for FaZe Clan to avoid troubles in court would be to apologize and create a completely different branding. Or, Alpha Forward can sue FaZe Clan for copying its genuine logo. If the company proves its authenticity, it can ultimately cost FaZe a lot of money.

While this might have been a real coincidence and the’s a chance that the companies will fix the issue internally, at the end of the day, one of the businesses will likely have to change its brand logotype. And given the proof that Alpha Forward already provided, there’s a high possibility that it will be the esports org that will change its logo in the end. 

One way or the other, the situation has already upset the gaming community and seemingly undermined FaZe Clan’s reputation.  

FaZe Clan has recently confirmed that the organization is set to become a publicly-traded company, following the approval of the merger with B. Riley Principal 150 Merger Corp. by the Securities and Exchange Commission. As a result, fans will be able to invest in the company on the NASDAQ stock exchange.

Header credit: FaZe Clan