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Formula One Losses Trademark Fight
Formula One Licensing has failed in a bid to gain exclusive control of the descriptor 'F1'.
FOL, which is the brand exploitation division of the Formula One group run by Bernie Ecclestone, made a trademark application for the abbreviation for a range of goods to the UK Trademark Registry.
The application was opposed by the French racing website Racing-Live SA.
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Autoweek reports that the UK Trademark Registry ruled against FOL, citing the definition of the 'F1' abbreviation on the influential online encyclopedia Wikipedia.
The judge agreed with Racing-Live that 'F1' is indeed a generic term.
"The evidence, furnished by both sides, in no way suggests that the ordinary, original meaning of 'F1', as a type of motorcar race and as a description of the cars that compete in it, has been displaced," David Landau explained.
He added: "I do not see that a group currently having the exclusive rights to the commercial exploitation of F1, under the auspice of the FIA, alters that.
"The evidence shows that F1 is not registrable as a trademark."
PaddockTalk Perspective
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