The Formula One motor-racing championship is facing up to the prospect of having to pay compensation to 3M after it emerged that the US conglomerate has filed opposition to F1’s trademark application for its new logo.
Formula One unveiled the new logo, the first step of a complete brand redesign, in November as owners Liberty Media seek to develop a broader fan base for the championship. The new logo was unveiled during the podium ceremony of the season-ending Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. It replaced a widely-recognised logo that had been in place for three decades, with the complete brand redesign the series’ first for 23 years. 3M filed a US and pan-European trademark application for its logo in February 2017 and in January said it was looking into the F1 logo matter. The trademark was registered four months later, with UK newspaper The Telegraph stating that this gives 3M precedence in the matter, as F1 didn’t enter its application until November last year.
National British daily broadsheet newspaper published in London, The Telegraph, has now reported that 3M has lodged opposition to F1’s application for a trademark due to “likelihood of confusion” with the one it has already registered. 3M reportedly filed its opposition on May 22. F1’s trademark application covers 26 of a total of 45 categories, including one for clothing, but excluding the one relating to therapeutic clothing. However, The Telegraph noted that this separation does not guarantee protection to Formula One because the products that the logos are being used on are similar.
The rebranding initiative is part of a number of changes made since Liberty Media completed its takeover of F1 at the beginning of last year. The visual identity was created by Wieden+Kennedy London, led by Richard Turley, executive creative director of content and design.
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