Last week, the new Black Fives Foundation was officially incorporated with the Department of Consumer and Regulatory Affairs in Washington, DC. The exact date was January 9, 2013.

Now that this step is complete, Black Fives, Inc. will be supporting the Black Fives Foundation in an important way, by assigning all of its intellectual property rights to the new philanthropic entity.

“This means 100% of any royalties, fees, or payments that come from the licensing of Black Fives owned trademarks, logos, copyrights, images, and related matter will go directly to this new charitable cause,” says Claude Johnson, founder and CEO of Black Fives, Inc.

“There are certainly many philanthropies that own IP and license it, however I’m not aware of any non-charitable business that has assigned its IP rights to its charity arm,” he says.

“We believe this is a unique arrangement, and more importantly, it creates amazing opportunities for making a difference through giving back, particularly in those communities where the teams of the Black Fives Era once thrived.”

Those locales include Harlem, Brooklyn, Philadelphia, Washington, D.C., Chicago, Pittsburgh, Newark, and Los Angeles.

The assignment of intellectual property rights from Black Fives, Inc. to the Black Fives Foundation will be for a period of ten years, with the option of renewing.

“Ten years should give the foundation and its directors plenty of time to make the most of these rights as assets, and to determine if they wish to renew them or move in a different direction,” says Johnson, who has wanted to create a formal philanthropic avenue ever since he organized Black Fives, Inc. as a for-profit business in 2003.

The CT-based corporation is dedicated to researching, preserving, teaching, and promoting the pre-1950 history of African American basketball teams.

The mission of the Black Fives Foundation will be to use the history of the Black Fives Era to help teach life lessons while honoring its pioneers and their descendants.