Trademark Guidelines

Effective Date: October 2, 2026

The TBF Marks (defined below) are owned by The Basketball Festival, LLC ("TBF," "we," "us," or "our"). The Basketball Festival events, showcases, competitions, media, and programming are produced and operated by TBF Event Management, LLC ("TBF Management"), which uses the TBF Marks under license from TBF.

These guidelines explain how you may refer to our events and when you need permission to use the TBF Marks. Except for the uses described as permitted in these guidelines, use of the TBF Marks requires advance written approval. To request approval, contact [legal@thebasketballfestival.com] with as much detail as possible about your intended use. If you already work with TBF Management, you can also contact your TBF Management representative.

These guidelines are a general overview, and the examples are not exhaustive. If you have a written agreement covering use of the TBF Marks, that agreement controls. All use of the TBF Marks, and the goodwill it generates, benefits TBF exclusively.

1. The TBF Marks

The TBF Marks identify the events, media, and programming offered under The Basketball Festival brand and the goodwill built with our audience, athletes, partners, and communities. The "TBF Marks" include:

Word marks, such as HOOPBOREE and THE BASKETBALL FESTIVAL (the "TBF Word Marks");
Logos, designs, and stylized versions of the marks (the "TBF Logos"); and
Confusingly similar variations of any TBF Mark, such as "HoopBoree Fest" or "GetSeen [Name]" ("Variation Marks").

TBF owns federal registrations, pending applications, and common-law rights in the TBF Marks. The list below is not exhaustive, and leaving a mark off this list does not waive any of TBF's rights in it.

Registered with the USPTO (use ®):

HOOPBOREE®
GETSEEN®
BET ON YOUR GAME®

Pending applications or common-law marks (use ™):

THE BASKETBALL FESTIVAL™
WHERE HOOPS MEETS CULTURE™
MIDMAJOR SHOWCASE™
LIVEHOOPSTV™

2. Prohibited Uses

The following uses are not permitted:

Unapproved events. Using any TBF Mark or Variation Mark to name, promote, or operate an event that TBF has not approved, or suggesting that such an event is associated with us.
Variation Marks. Creating or using Variation Marks, including combining part of a TBF Mark with your own name, a city, or other words, without our written license.
Claims of ownership. Using the TBF Marks in a way that suggests you own or control them, including registering them, or anything confusingly similar, as a trademark, business name, domain name, or social media handle.
False endorsement. Using the TBF Marks in a way that suggests TBF or TBF Event Management sponsors, endorses, or partners with you or your products, services, or content, when it does not.
Disparaging or unlawful uses. Using the TBF Marks in a disparaging manner or in violation of any law.

Unauthorized use of the TBF Marks may constitute trademark infringement, false endorsement, or unfair competition.

3. Uses That Don't Require Permission

You do not need a license to refer to TBF and our events truthfully and accurately, as long as you don't use our logos or suggest sponsorship or endorsement. For example, you may:

Write news stories, reviews, commentary, or social media posts about our events, including in paid or subscription publications.
Truthfully state that you attended, competed in, or covered an event (for example, "I played at The Basketball Festival").
Use our official hashtags for non-commercial posts.
Use ordinary words that happen to appear in our marks, such as "basketball," "festival," "summit," or "hoops," in their ordinary, descriptive sense, in a way that does not suggest an association with TBF.

We may still ask you to change or remove content that we believe is misleading.

4. Uses That Require a License

The following uses require a written license from TBF, which TBF may grant or deny in its sole discretion:

Content suggesting our approval. Content presented as official, approved, or produced by TBF.
- No license needed: "A Review of the Games at The Basketball Festival"
- License required: "The Basketball Festival's Official List of Top Performances"
Commercial use. Using the TBF Marks to advertise or promote anyone else's products or services, such as on flyers, signage, ads, or product promotions.
Merchandise. Using the TBF Marks on apparel, posters, collectibles, or any other goods.
Contests and giveaways. Using the TBF Marks in any raffle, giveaway, auction, contest, or sweepstakes, such as "Enter to win two passes to HOOPBOREE®," or offering TBF tickets or credentials as prizes.
Domain names, handles, and branded hashtags. Using a TBF Mark in a domain name, social media handle, or account name, or in a hashtag used for commercial purposes (for example, www.[Name]BasketballFestival.com or #[Brand]Hoopboree).
Logos. Any use of a TBF Logo, including in editorial content.

Who grants licenses. Licenses are granted by TBF in writing. TBF Event Management may grant limited rights to use the TBF Marks to participants, vendors, sponsors, and other partners in its written agreements with them, as TBF's authorized licensee. A verbal approval or an approval from anyone else is not a license.

5. How to Request a License

Email legal@thebasketballfestival.com with a description of your proposed use, the marks you want to use, where and how long the use will run, and samples or mockups if available. If you already work with TBF Event Management, you may also contact your TBF Event Management representative. Requests received close to an event may take longer to review. When you receive a license, review its terms and stay within its scope.

6. How Licensed Marks Must Be Displayed

If you have a license, follow these rules unless your license says otherwise:

Get approval first. Submit every proposed display of the TBF Marks for written approval before use.
Use the correct symbol. Use ® with registered marks and ™ with unregistered marks, as shown in Section 1, at the first or most prominent use of each mark.
Include an ownership notice. Except where space is limited, such as on social media, include a credit line such as:
- "HOOPBOREE® is a registered trademark of The Basketball Festival, LLC, used under license."
- "THE BASKETBALL FESTIVAL™ is a trademark of The Basketball Festival, LLC, used under license."
Follow the logo guidelines. Use only official logo artwork provided by us, and follow the accompanying logo guidelines exactly.
Don't modify the marks. Display the marks exactly as written or depicted. Don't alter them, abbreviate them, or combine them with other names, marks, or words unless we approve it in writing. Any approved variation is owned by TBF and may be used only under license.
Don't imply a partnership. Don't display the marks in any way that suggests sponsorship, partnership, or endorsement beyond what your license allows.

TBF may review your use of the TBF Marks for quality and compliance, and may require you to change or stop any use that does not meet these guidelines or your license.

7. If You Can't Use the Marks

If you don't have a license, describe your activity in your own words without using the TBF Marks or suggesting a connection to us. You may truthfully state that you are not affiliated with us.

Correct:

"Join us for a local basketball showcase in [City]."
"An independent hoops event, not affiliated with The Basketball Festival."

Incorrect:

"Attend my unofficial HOOPBOREE event."
"Come to my event at The Basketball Festival." (unless your event is part of an approved TBF event)

8. Usage by Relationship

These summaries are a general overview. Your written agreement with TBF or TBF Event Management, if you have one, controls.

Official participants (athletes, teams, coaches, presenters, vendors). You may use the TBF Word Marks to promote your participation on social media and in promotional materials, as allowed by your agreement with TBF Event Management. Use of a TBF Logo requires prior approval and official logo files. For uses outside your agreement, contact your TBF Event Management representative.

Representatives of participants (agents, managers, brand partners). You may promote a participant's involvement using the TBF Word Marks as allowed by the participant's agreement. Logo use, and any use beyond that agreement, requires prior approval. A brand partner may not use the TBF Marks to promote its own products without a license.

Attendees. You are welcome to use the TBF Word Marks and our official hashtags to share your experience for non-commercial purposes. Please don't alter the marks or suggest that we endorse you or your content.

Press and media. Editorial coverage, including reviews, reporting, and commentary, does not require a license. Use of the TBF Logos, or any use suggesting our endorsement, requires prior approval. Contact legal@thebasketballfestival.com for media assets. Credentialed media are also subject to our credential terms.

Unaffiliated event organizers. You may not use the TBF Marks or Variation Marks to promote your event. Describe your event in generic terms and, where helpful, state that it is not affiliated with The Basketball Festival.

Designers, advertisers, and merchandisers. If you work with TBF Event Management, follow your contract. Otherwise, any use of the TBF Marks in designs, merchandise, or advertising requires a license from TBF. Contact us before you begin.

9. Contact and Reservation of Rights

Questions about these guidelines or the TBF Marks may be sent to legal@thebasketballfestival.com. To report a possible misuse of the TBF Marks, email the same address with a description and a link or photo.

TBF may update these guidelines at any time by posting a new version. These guidelines do not grant any license or waive any of TBF's rights, and TBF reserves the right to object to any use of the TBF Marks that it considers inconsistent with these guidelines or its rights.