Sport suing beverage maker for ‘F1 Racing’ drink

(GMM) Formula one has sued a Singapore drinks maker for selling a beverage called 'F1 Racing Energy Drink'. In the Singapore High Court, Formula One Licensing BV is asking for damages and an order for the drinks to be destroyed against Speed Drinks Pte, according to Bloomberg and the Straits Times. A hearing was held on Wednesday.

Speed Drinks, with an 'F1' logo registered in Holland and elsewhere, argued that the sport is wrongly claiming control of a generic term. Formula one argued that the drink has caused "irreparable damage" to its brand, and its future efforts to license official F1 drinks.

In 2006, the sport successfully stopped Chinese fashion companies from selling clothes with 'F1 Jeans' branding, but a year later failed to win exclusive rights to the 'F1' abbreviation by the UK Trademark Registry.