On Sunday, Nike disapproved of Max Verstappen launching his personal clothing brand ‘Max 1’ over a trademark issue. The American sportswear giants claim it’s a trademark infringement as they have a running shoe brand called ‘Air Max,’ and the F1 racer’s proposed brand could confuse customers.
Amidst the conflict, the Benelux Office for Intellectual Property (BOIP), the trademark authority responsible for the region, has sided with Nike and identified Verstappen‘s brand as ‘too similar’ to Nike’s sub-brand. Surely this intervention could propel the Red Bull star to take the court’s route.
And this won’t be the first time when an F1 driver goes against a colossal brand. A few years ago, Lewis Hamilton was vying against the luxury watchmakers Hamilton over a similar issue.
The seven-time world champion had an issue with the watch brand using his last name to sell watches and owning the exclusive right to use it across Europe. His rival’s entire experience should be an example for Verstappen to know that it would be a tough battle against Nike.
Hamilton watch brand defeated Lewis Hamilton over the same issue
In 2017, Hamilton launched a case against the Hamilton watchmakers for having the trademark rights to use ‘Hamilton’ across Europe commercially. The seven-time- world champion’s side tried to nullify the brand’s application by claiming it to be done in ‘bad faith’ and hindering ‘fair competition’.
However, the defendants argued that the brand had used the name since 1892, several decades before Hamilton was even born. In the end, European Union Intellectual Property Office nullified Hamilton’s plea because no person holds the ‘natural right’ to trademark their name and affect the third party’s rights.
It was learned that the Mercedes star wanted to use his name ‘Lewis Hamilton’ commercially by forming a brand. But the watchmakers’ prerogative towards the second name didn’t allow him to kick off his project.
Returning to Verstappen, Nike has the same merits to the argument as the luxury watch brand had against Lewis. Air Max as a brand had been running for 10 years before even Verstappen was born. So, it would be challenging for the 25-year-old to reverse BOIP’s order in a higher legislative body.
Considering BIOP has also concluded that there is a similarity between the signs of both brands, and consumers are likely to be confused, Verstappen has little fighting room against Nike.
What can Max Verstappen do?
Since Verstappen’s rival has set a precedent in the case, and usually big corporations are adamant about their trademark rights, the Red Bull ace has limited options. The best he can do is to devise a resolution with Nike about what can be the best where he can use his name in his own apparel line without affecting the commercial interests of the American brand.
Or he can just make some tweaks in the name of his brand name, which Nike can’t dispute. It’s only upon Verstappen’s entourage to come out with a viable solution.
