Controversy before the Mexico Grand Prix weekend. The issue is about federal laws and awkward sponsorships. All the Formula 1 teams run exhibiting brands of companies that have paid millions of dollars to be able to appear on the liveries of the cars. For example, Scuderia Ferrari on the nose has the Shell logo, historic partner of the Maranello team. Here, this type of sponsorship in Mexico is prohibited by the Federal Code for the protection of industrial property. This Code ‘protects’ the Mexican company Bardahl, which in 1979 signed an agreement with Formula 1 to acquire the exclusive sponsorship rights for lubricants and additives. In practice, according to this Code, Ferrari could not race in Mexico exhibiting the Shell brand.
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This was stated by Oscar de la Torre Jara, managing partner of the law firm specializing in industrial property De la Torre, Rodríguez y Salazar: “We only ask that the exclusive use of the Bardahl brand be respected for the categories of lubricants and additive oils. Ignoring this warning would violate both Bardahl’s rights and the federal law for the protection of industrial property in Mexico, and could lead to economic sanctions by the Mexican Institute of Industrial Property.” – he explained.
Article 388 of the Code states that the offender, such as Ferrari could be, risks being punished with the payment of approximately one million dollars. However, it is very difficult to overcome the administrative sanctions: at most, a fine will arrive, and that too could be avoided through an agreement.
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