Long before FaZe Clan was a publicly traded esports empire, a small San Francisco streetwear label had already registered the FAZE name for clothing — and that head start turned into real legal leverage when the two collided over merch.
What Is This About?
Before FaZe Clan was a household name in esports, a San Francisco streetwear brand had already built a business around the same four letters. Faze Apparel, LLC — a Mission District clothing label — sued FaZe Clan, Inc. in 2018 for trademark infringement over the FAZE name, in a case captioned FAZE Apparel, LLC v. Faze Clan, Inc., No. 2:18-cv-02052 in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California. The dispute pitted a small apparel company's earlier federal clothing trademark against a far larger, better-known gaming organization that had expanded into selling merch.It is a classic "who used it first" trademark story. The apparel brand won the opening rounds, then the two sides settled in March 2019 before the case ever reached a trial. Because it ended in a confidential settlement, the deeper questions about who ultimately had superior rights were resolved privately rather than by a jury.
The Two "FAZE" Brands
Faze Apparel was a San Francisco streetwear label founded in the late 2000s, with a retail presence in the city's Mission District. It filed a federal trademark application for FAZE in the clothing category (Class 25) in March 2013 and secured a registration in June 2014. FaZe Clan, the esports and content organization, applied to register its own FaZe marks for clothing in 2013 — but a U.S. Patent and Trademark Office examiner refused those applications, finding them confusingly similar to the apparel brand's existing FAZE mark. That refusal set the stage: on paper, the small clothing company had priority in the exact category where the much larger gaming brand wanted to sell shirts and hoodies.What Each Side Alleged
Faze Apparel, as plaintiff, alleged that FaZe Clan's sale of apparel bearing the FAZE name infringed its registered trademark and caused consumer confusion, bringing claims for trademark infringement, false designation of origin, and unfair competition. Its complaint sought remedies including enhanced damages and attorneys' fees. Those were the amounts the brand asked for — not sums any court awarded.FaZe Clan denied infringement and pushed back with a counterclaim of its own, asking the court to rule in its favor and to order the cancellation of Faze Apparel's trademark registrations. In other words, each company claimed it was the rightful owner of the FAZE name in the marketplace. Those competing ownership and infringement arguments were allegations by the parties; the court never decided them on the merits, because the case settled first.
The Rulings That Shaped the Case
Two things did get decided along the way, and both went the apparel brand's direction. First, in 2016 — before the federal lawsuit — the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board entered judgment in favor of Faze Apparel, finding FAZE CLAN confusingly similar to the apparel brand's registered FAZE mark for clothing. Second, on May 22, 2018, U.S. District Judge R. Gary Klausner granted Faze Apparel a preliminary injunction that barred FaZe Clan from selling merchandise bearing FAZE unless the word "Clan" was prominently displayed alongside it. A preliminary injunction is an early, provisional order, not a final judgment — but it signaled that the smaller company's priority claim had real weight, and it increased the pressure to resolve the case.How It Ended
The two sides reached a deal at a settlement conference on March 19, 2019, after which the case was dismissed with prejudice. The settlement terms were placed on the record but not made public. Around the same time, the founders of Faze Apparel sold the FAZE brand and wound down the label, launching a new clothing line afterward; the buyer and price were not disclosed.Industry reporting and later trademark records suggest that FaZe Clan came away controlling the FAZE clothing marks — which is why the esports org now holds FAZE-family clothing registrations. But because the settlement was confidential, "FaZe Clan bought the trademark" is best understood as a widely reported inference from the timing and the trademark assignments, not a fact confirmed in the public court record. What is certain is that the naming conflict ended by agreement, and the FAZE-branded apparel most fans see today traces back to a dispute the smaller company was, at least in the early rounds, winning.
Frequently Asked Questions
What was the FAZE Apparel vs FaZe Clan lawsuit about?
Faze Apparel, LLC, a San Francisco streetwear label, sued the esports organization FaZe Clan in 2018 for trademark infringement, false designation of origin, and unfair competition, alleging that FaZe Clan's sale of apparel bearing the word FAZE infringed the clothing brand's earlier federal FAZE trademark. FaZe Clan denied infringement and counterclaimed, asking the court to cancel the apparel brand's registrations. The infringement and priority arguments were each side's allegations.
Who won the FAZE trademark case?
There was no trial verdict — the case settled. Before it did, the apparel brand won two rulings: in 2016 the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board sided with Faze Apparel, and on May 22, 2018 a federal judge granted a preliminary injunction restricting FaZe Clan from selling FAZE-branded merchandise unless the word "Clan" was prominently displayed. The parties then settled in March 2019 and the case was dismissed with prejudice on undisclosed terms.
Did FaZe Clan buy the FAZE Apparel trademark?
The settlement terms were not made public, so no official confirmation exists. Around the same time, the founders of Faze Apparel sold the brand and its FAZE mark to an undisclosed buyer and moved on to a new label. Trademark records and industry reporting suggest FaZe Clan ended up controlling the FAZE clothing marks, but because the settlement was confidential this should be treated as reported rather than court-confirmed.
Is this a class action I can join?
No. This was a business-to-business trademark dispute between two companies. There is no class, no settlement fund for the public, no claim form, and nothing to claim.
Sources
• CourtListener — FAZE Apparel, LLC v. Faze Clan, Inc., 2:18-cv-02052 (C.D. Cal.)• ESPN — FAZE Apparel sues esports org FaZe Clan over trademark infringement
• Esports Insider — FAZE Apparel sues FaZe Clan over trademark infringement
• Justia Trademarks — FAZE CLAN registration record (USPTO)
• Mission Local — the creators of Faze launch a new San Francisco store after selling the brand
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