Creating an esports organization is a large undertaking. Without legal advice, you could run into serious legal issues, like a poorly constructed contract resulting in a court case or losing significant amounts of money.
At KJK, we have extensive experience when it come to esports’ legal requirements, from content protection to creating airtight contracts. We also offer comprehensive services for esports franchise formation, from creating your formation documents to helping you construct create and protect brand collateral.
Important to Consider:
Common Pitfalls of Esports Franchise Formation
The process of launching an esports brand can be filled with difficulties. If you want to form an esports organization, working with an esports franchise lawyer at KJK can help you avoid these common pitfalls and grow your franchise successfully.
Making it Exclusive
Creating an esports organization can be lucrative, but often esports team and organization owners make the mistake of focusing exclusively on one game for the entirety of their existence. While most professional gamers only reach a high level in one game, many fans support different games across multiple platforms.
Partnerships are key
Partnerships, like in all business endeavors, are essential. Knowing which gamers are up-and-coming, which untapped sponsors are interested in investing and which games are the newest trend can all help you improve your ROI and create a long-lasting organization. At KJK, our esports attorneys use their extensive experience to connect sponsors, owners and gamers, working as a match-making service in esports.
Focusing on Too Many Games
Although you don’t want to be exclusive, you also don’t want to swing too much in the other direction. When you first start, focusing on one or two games can help you build your brand while remaining open to expanding.
Having Loose Contracts
As an organization, you must sign contracts with various people, including sponsors, players, teams, employees and venues. With such large amounts of money at stake, it’s essential you have a legal team experienced in esports review each document before signing. Some organizations make the mistake of working with law firms with no previous esports experience.
However, esports is a unique field, presenting different legal problems than traditional sports. A traditional organization’s contract might not include language about streaming rights or IP, but an esports franchise must consider these topics.
We Can Help:
How KJK Can Speed up the Formation of Your Esports Organization
Creating a franchise takes time. First, you and your legal team must create a business plan for your esports organization, starting with establishing the core of the organization’s executives and directors. These positions include, but are not limited to:
- Owner, Director or Founder
- CEO, President, CFO, COO
- Director of Social Media
- Marketing Director
- Director of Content
- Director of Partnerships
- Business Development Coordinator
- Coaches
- Managers
As the organization grows, the need to plan for these roles will be essential for a well-functioning organization.
Time will be dedicated to creating a website, reaching out to players and teams, crafting contracts and building a brand. Doing all of this yourself could take a significant amount of time. The KJK esports group can assist you with all facets of formation, and we will focus on putting a team around your organization to create success.
Because of our experience, the KJK team can streamline the process it takes to form an organization. Instead of creating a template for the organization from scratch, we give you a starting point, including documents and logo creation, and schedule meetings to help you stay on track.
Why We Work:
KJK’s Franchise Formation Service is Economical
While you can go to individual companies for each aspect of formation, working with KJK’s Organization Formation Service saves you time and money.
Besides saving you money, choosing KJK’s services means you receive personalized advice on all aspects of your organization. Our team can ensure your website looks fantastic and follows all privacy regulations and other legal requirements. Our organization formation services include:
Website Design
Our web design services include a four-page site, as well as front-end design. You have access to stock images and receive three opportunities to make creative revisions, two sitemap reviews, terms of use, privacy policies and website disclosures.
Formation Documents
On the legal side of organization formation, the KJK team creates your formation documents and registers you with the Secretary of State. We also help you prepare operating agreements to ensure your company runs smoothly and make fundraising in the future easier and less costly.
Brand Collateral
Besides developing your website, KJK’s marketing and brand development team also offers brand creation, with logo creation, two months of social media management and an eSignature for all your emails. Our social media management professionals can coordinate with our website design team, ensuring a clear, unified brand presence online. You’ll have an active voice in designing your logo, with three creative revision sessions and final approval.
Intellectual Property
One of the most pressing legal matters to consider in esports is Intellectual Property (IP). Because esports involves the IP of several people, including the players, the gaming companies and the sponsors, your franchise must clarify who owns your players’ and teams’ IP. We provide review and counseling of patent licensing, trademarks and copyrights to maximize your IP through management, licensing and strategic agreements.
Fundraising Package
We design your pitch deck and help you raise more money and impress donors. You can consult with our team to create a marketing strategy, business model and any other fundraising content, both online and off. Additionally, we draft and negotiate subscription documents and investor documentation, and review and amend operating agreements to include founder protections.
Project Coordination
KJK also offers project coordination, meaning we can help you create a realistic and achievable project timeline, including a kick-off call and weekly check-ins, to ensure everything is on track.
Important to Know:
Capital Raise and Investment: How Does KJK Help?
Besides helping you create a convincing pitch deck, KJK’s services make it easier for you to find investors and raise capital. We can help you connect with sponsors, and our skilled social media management puts you in touch with potential donors and sponsors as well.
We know many of the industry’s top players because of our extensive experience working in esports, including content creators, sponsors, vendors, promoters, distributors, media, etc. Instead of merely connecting you with players or sponsors, we introduce you to sponsors or players we believe are a fit for your franchise. We are also aware of the non-endemic entities interested in investing in esports, like Honda and the U.S. Air Force.
We’re Here for you:
Build Your Esports Franchise With KJK
Our extensive Esports franchise formation services mean you save time and money. Call KJK today to arrange an appointment and learn how we can help you create a successful Esports franchise.