Lyon Gaming rebrand to Rainbow7 following ruling

06 December 2017

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One month after Riot Games announced that Lyon Gaming would be fined following a brand dispute, the organisation has renamed to Rainbow7.

An official ruling by Riot in early November brought to light a breach of contract committed by Mexican League of Legends powerhouse Lyon Gaming, who it was revealed did not own the rights to the team’s name and logo. Fast forward thirty days, and the team has a new name – and a colourful new image. They shared the fresh look in a Facebook post last night.

https://www.facebook.com/Rainbow7LAN/photos/a.350933958341382.1073741827.347737541994357/1229710063797096/


An excerpt from the announcement translates as:

“Today we change but with the support of our fans we are determined to achieve a new championship,
Some will say it could be the tenth, others will say that could be the first of a new age, it doesn’t matter, today we embrace the change with
Professionalism, passion and commitment to remain the best in the region.

With renewed enthusiasm and ambition, we will fight under our new badge.
To continue to give joy and satisfaction to our thousands of followers, thank you all, expect great news very soon!

After the storm comes calm, comes Rainbow7.”

Lyon Gaming’s original logo

Riot’s ruling forced Lyon’s hand after they were notified by a third party that the name and logo of Lyon Gaming did not belong to the organisation’s owner. That constituted a direct violation of the contract that the team had signed upon entering the league, when they had signed legal documentation acknowledging their rights to the brand – whilst apparently aware that the appropriate rights were actually in conflict.

Rainbow7’s update received a mixed response on social media, which should have been expected given the complete change of design and colour from a relatively standard sporting aesthetic to something totally distinctive, and somewhat eccentric.

What is more alarming is a response to the Facebook post from a Graphics Design student, who pointed out a disturbing similarity to an existing logo on a website offering design services. The logo appears to be the winner of a ‘Progressive Logo Design‘ contest:

A side-by-side comparison of a logo from designcrowd.com (L) next to Rainbow7’s new logo (R).

It’s unclear if Rainbow7 held the competition, but the brief for the listing seems to have been written with Electronic Dance Music in mind, not gaming. The page shows up among the first results in a Google search for ‘modern progressive logo design’. Fans will be hoping that this time, the organisation has the requisite ownership of their assets, and that the team can steer clear of landing themselves in hot water once again.

Esports Insider says: A spicy new brand from the Mexican team looks certain to provide a source of Rainbow Six-inspired memes; hopefully, that is the worst issue they face and they now have the proper ownership of their assets, as they look to move on from the ruling.