F1 to the content creators giving them free publicity. (Photo by Song Haiyuan/MB Media/Getty Images)
The popularity of Formula 1 is growing across the world, but particularly in the United States. F1 used to be a niche sport in the U.S. — fans would struggle to find a sports bar that was showing a grand prix (except, maybe Monaco) even when the start times of the global sport were conducive to viewing in North America. Now all that’s changed. A Netflix series about the sport helped spark a tremendous increase in popularity for it. It’s been reported that the number of fans between ages of 16-35 has grown to more than one billion.
But with that growth has come some growing pains. With a younger demographic interested in the sport for the first time, there’s also been growth in content creators talking about F1. And that’s when the lawyers got in the picture.
The F1 attorneys have been busy over the sport’s summer break, reportedly sending out cease and desist letters to content creators that have “F1” in their handle. Yes, even though those same creators have been instrumental in spreading the popularity of the sport.
And, I mean, part of me gets it. Trademark dilution is a real thing and it is essential for in-house counsel to protect the intellectual property of the company. Formula 1 has a uniquely hard time on this front because nothing else *but* the trademark captures the specific sport. If you say football — or maybe professional football to distinguish from the NCAA’s product — you know the specific game and league that’s being discussed. But say “racing” and maybe you mean NASCAR, which is a very different sport. Even “open-wheel racing” fails to distinguish between Indy Car and F1. So how are fans of F1 supposed to find one another in the vastness of the internet to build a community and enthusiasm for the sport — which uniquely benefits F1 — without using the term “F1”?
Even with the trademark issue in play, this feels like F1’s shooting themselves in the foot by dinging the folks who are providing free marketing for their brand. And that’s certainly NBA Commissioner Adam Silver’s take. The former Cravath attorney was famously asked if the league wanted to participate in lawsuits against YouTube over game highlights and he refused, saying, “The way we look at it: we’re incredibly protective of our live game rights, but for the most part, highlights are marketing.”
Historically, that’s something F1 just doesn’t understand. In 2019, the league sent a “stack of legal letters” to star driver and seven-time (should be eight, IYKYK) world champion Lewis Hamilton over his posting of race highlights to social media. Since then, F1 has gotten new owners, Liberty Media, but given the hardball they’re playing with content creators, it doesn’t look like they’ve learned much.
Kathryn Rubino is a Senior Editor at Above the Law, host of The Jabot podcast, and co-host of Thinking Like A Lawyer. AtL tipsters are the best, so please connect with her. Feel free to email her with any tips, questions, or comments and follow her on Twitter @Kathryn1 or Mastodon @[email protected].
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