FORMULA One sued Speed Drinks Pte for selling a F1 Racing Energy
Drink in Singapore, host of the first night race of the world's
most-watched motor sport, asking for damages and for the drinks to
be destroyed, reported Bloomberg news on Thursday.
Formula One Licensing BV accused Speed Drinks of passing off the
beverage bearing a circled checkered 'F1' logo and the slogan
'Start Your Engine' as a beverage licensed by it, according to a
lawsuit filed in the Singapore High Court. Judge Judith Prakash is
scheduled to hear the case privately on Thursday.
Speed Drinks, which imports the beverage from Holland and
distributes it in Asia, denies any wrongdoing and said in court
papers that Formula One was trying to assert a claim to the generic
term 'F1.' The logo and other marks used on the drink can are also
legitimately registered in Holland and several other countries by
the Dutch principal and differs from the trademark owned by Formula
One, company director Ashok Murthy said in his affidavit.
Formula One, controlled by Bernie Ecclestone, said Speed Drinks'
actions would hinder its future attempts to license the use of the
'F1' mark on beverages, according to court papers. Speed Drinks,
which also directs users to the official F1 Web site caused
'irreparable damage to the reputation and goodwill' of the brand,
Formula One said in the documents.
The motor sport owner has mounted several challenges to protect
its trademark. In 2007, the group failed to win exclusive rights to
the F1 abbreviation after the UK Trademark Registry said the public
associated Formula One with a sport rather than a brand name. A
year earlier, Formula One won a fight in a Beijing court to stop
eight Chinese fashion companies from selling apparel with the 'F1
Jeans' trademark.
Speed Drinks' beverage was first sold in Singapore during
Formula One's own grand prix last year and was the official drink
at concerts including one by Welsh rock band Stereophonics, Murthy
said in his court filing. Singapore is paying about $200 million
over five years for the rights to stage the event to promote itself
as a business and leisure destination.
-- ST
