
Could one of the most important motorsport championships in the world be forced to change its name due to a messy and ongoing lawsuit linked to trademark infringement? The answer to this conundrum may need to come from legal experts at the European Court of Justice, as Formula E tries to stand its ground against a claim by British company, The Green Effort.
Rival Efforts
The story begins way back in 2011. According to a story which originally broke in British newspaper The Express and was subsequently reported in Forbes magazine, this is when one of the founders of The Green Effort, a German architect named Ronald Kirchner, applied to the European Union Intellectual Property Office. In return, they received a pan-European trademark to the term “Formula E” in relation to television broadcast, sporting events and clothing. This trademark was registered early in that year and subsequently transferred to The Green Effort in 2014. After some delay, a go-kart racing championship was launched in Germany in 2015, using the trademarked name and a series that’s still in operation.
Meanwhile, the organisers of the Formula E Championship for single seater, electric racing cars had received long-term sanction from the sport’s governing body, the FIA and was already into its first season with great success. They were fully aware of the opposing series and its trademark and were trying to work out how to get around this potentially significant problem.
Genuine Use
This is where the case gets very interesting, as trademark regulations state that the trademark must be “put to genuine use in the community in connection with the goods and services in respect of which it is registered,” within five years from the initial date of registration. Otherwise, its use can be disputed, and even suspended.
Gloves off
Armed with this information, the FIA launched a dispute to try and get the trademark revoked and even though The Green Effort had in fact, hosted two races during that stipulated five-year window.
Missed Deadline
For reasons which are not completely clear, The Green Effort failed to give the trademark authorities the actual proof of this fact by a specific deadline. Even though this evidence did arrive, and only a few minutes after the deadline, the registration was summarily revoked.
There followed a number of arguments, claims and counterclaims, but ultimately, The Green Effort was not able to overturn the decision by the trademark authorities based on the tardy document delivery. Undeterred, they decided to push forward, and a request was sent to the European Court, asking them to cancel the revocation of the registered European Union trademark.
Appeal in Session
In yet another twist to this tale, the European Court denied the application because it was time expired and The Green Action had not brought the case forward in a timely fashion. This simply led to an appeal, which was lodged in the spring of last year and is currently in progress, the outcome of which is eagerly anticipated. Depending on which way this falls, the verdict could still present Formula E and the FIA with a considerable challenge ahead.
What’s Next?
Certainly, the bigger of the two championships has broken a lot of new ground and has come a long way, despite many teething troubles and growing pains. They may yet be able to come to an agreement with the owners of the German karting series, and if so, that would be at the end of a very long and winding road indeed.
Comentarios