UPDATE: Spokane IFL team cannot reach deal with AFL. Organization must re-brand.
SPOKANE, Washington (October 19, 2015) – The Spokane IFL franchise released a statement today regarding the organization's previous Spokane Shock trademark and logo rights as a member of the Arena Football League.
Since the announcement of the organization's transition to the Indoor Football League last month, team ownership has been in continuing discussions with the AFL in regard to the acquisition of the Spokane Shock name and trademark.
As a part of the team's former membership within the af2 and AFL, intellectual properties are owned by the Arena Football League consisting of team names and trademarked logos.
Nader Naini of IFL Partners LLC said, "Despite our best efforts with the AFL, they are unwilling to let us continue with the team name this franchise has used since 2006. We're sorry it didn't work out but as many of you know, this is not unprecedented in professional sports.
Nonetheless, our history will remain as a part of the community and our dedication to the city of Spokane will continue as will the excitement and passion that you have come to know over our last ten seasons.
A new era has begun in Spokane and soon we will be releasing information on possible new names for our newly branded football team. We expect it to be a fun process and we will invite our fans to be part of the decision.
The last ten years have been great. The next ten years will be even better! Thank you all for your support."
The Spokane IFL franchise has announced a "Name the Team" contest for fans interested in helping to determine the official team name as the team embarks on their inaugural season as a member of the Indoor Football League in 2016.
"This is an exciting time for our organization and our fans as we embark on a new era of Spokane indoor football," said Director of Operations Ryan Eucker. "Our community has a rich history of indoor football, one that has been created thanks to the unwavering support our fans. We look forward to continuing this tradition that we have created together over the past ten seasons."
Fans can submit their name suggestions beginning today (October 19) through 12:00 p.m. PT on Friday, October 23. If creative fans would also like to submit artwork concepts for a team logo, they are welcome to do so. Suggestions should emailed to info@spokanefootball.com.
Submissions will be vetted by a panel consisting of team ownership, staff, season ticket holders, sponsors, and community representatives. Each will also be examined by legal staff to determine the availability of trademarks and copyrights. At this time, the organization plans to continue to utilize a color scheme consisting of navy, orange, and white.
On Friday, October 23, team staff will collect submissions and tabulate the most popular recommendations and then select a final three to be presented to the team's panel. The fan(s) who submitted the first and original entries that are selected within the top three and reach the final selection process will each receive a pair of 2016 season tickets.
The announcement of the final selection will take place in the coming weeks once the team has had ample opportunity for graphic design and development of a team logo.
The team's first game of the 2016 IFL season is scheduled for Saturday, February 27 with a 7:00 p.m. PT kickoff at Spokane Veterans Memorial Arena against the Tri-Cities Fever.
Sunday, Oct. 18-- After laborious negotiations, the Spokane Shock could not reach a deal with the Arena Football League regarding trademark property. Unless a breakthrough happens in the next 24 hours, the Shock will begin a rebranding process as the team enters its inaugural season in the IFL.
According to the team, the AFL's demands are unreasonable and there's no way the organization can meet the league halfway. At this point, an announcement is expected Monday morning that the Spokane Shock will begin a process to find a new team name and logo, along with all the other logistics that go into a new trademark.
The team plans to ask the fans for help and suggestions for the new team name during this process.
This is discouraging news for the organization after supposedly reaching a deal, in principle, earlier this week.
The big stir began on Oct. 18 when the AFL released this statement:
The Arena Football League has been in discussions with the Spokane Shock about allowing them to continue using the Shock name and trademarks. The rights to all Spokane Shock trademarks and logos are owned by the AFL and there have been earnest attempts to reach an agreement for the acquisition of those marks. Unfortunately, those attempts have not come to fruition and the League will retain the rights to the Spokane Shock name. The League intends to have a presence in the State of Washington again in the near future.
After a meeting, the organization was optimistic the team would remain the Spokane Shock in the IFL, but that is not the case anymore.
This, of course, is a big issue because when the Shock entered the AFL from the AF2, the team signed over all of its trademark property to the league. That's why the organization is in this current predicament.
The Shock had a great run. In 10 years of existence, the team won two titles in the AF2 and one championship in the AFL. Spokane will play its first IFL game on Feb. 27, under which name though, who knows?
