Formula 1: Liberty Media’s F1 logo is in hot water with 3M
By Kevin Nguyen
Liberty Media, Formula 1’s new owners, are in the midst of a potential trademark battle over the rebranded F1 logo with 3M.
An unpopular rebrand could cost Formula 1‘s new owners in a legal trademark battle with 3M.
In Abu Dhabi, Formula 1‘s new commercial owners, Liberty Media, unveiled a new logo replacing the iconic F1 silhouetted logo in use since 1994. Reception has been overwhelmingly negative. Among the critics, according to Motorsport.com, are four-time champions Lewis Hamilton and Sebastian Vettel.
While fans have been critical, they have had the offseason to get used to the new logo as F1 quickly began using the minimalist design on social media and elsewhere. Hamilton said the new logo isn’t as iconic.
"“I think the one that we already had was an iconic logo. Just imagine Ferrari changing their logo, or Mercedes changing their logo. I don’t think the new one is as iconic but maybe it will grow on us.”"
Vettel was more blunt.
"“I liked the old one better.”"
With a little over two months before the start of the 2018 season, the new logo is under fire for possible trademark infringement. 3M, the makers of Scotch tape and Post-It notes among other products, are looking into possible legal action against F1 and Liberty Media for trademark infringement. The problem is that F1’s new “F” is remarkably similar to that of 3M’s Futuro brand, a brand of compression sleeves.
Speaking with The Telegraph, a 3M spokesman noted that 3M filed the trademark before Liberty Media.
"“3M filed a US trademark application for the Futuro logo on Feb 20 2017. Also, we have not had any discussions about the logo with the other party. We are looking into this matter further.”"
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F1 business journalist Christian Sylt, who broke the story; confirmed that 3M holds precedence to likeness of the disputed “F” over Liberty Media by obtaining 3M’s Futuro trademark application. The application shows that it was received by Feb 17, 2017 and registered on June 13, 2017, which was five months before Liberty Media’s application filing in November. The comparison between the two “F’s” reveals an uncanny resemblance.
This is a problem for Liberty, who are set to release a merchandise line featuring the new logo at the season opener in Australia in March. With pending or possible legal action, the merchandise line cannot move forward. That will cost F1’s new owners more money to cover more overrun on top of the estimated $1 million it took to rebrand.
The rebranding effort was meant to increase revenue by making the sport more visible on digital platforms. Sean Bratches, F1’s commercial chief defended the rebrand, saying it was part of an industry trend, according to The F1 Broadcasting Blog.
"“You cannot stitch the old logo chevron to the right. A number of brands, particularly in this day and age, are trying to simplify their marks to enter the digital space. Look at Starbucks, or Coca Cola which has taken the condensation off their logo to enter digital. We felt we had to go a little bit further and really retool to position us on a going forward basis.”"
According to Forbes, if Liberty’s rebrand effort fails, it could cost them with the teams. If F1 loses out to 3M in a trademark battle, there’s potential that less prize money will be awarded to teams in order to cover the overhead of a botched rebrand. F1 teams don’t like to lose money and smaller teams like Sauber can’t afford to lose money.
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Will F1 go back to the old logo to save face, regain fan support, and more importantly, save money? We will see.