Rich Energy has lost a High Court case in the United Kingdom regarding the originality of its logo design which appears to have been copied, then slightly modded from what was a registered bicycle brand.
Whyte Bikes took Rich Energy to court claiming the start-up energy drinks company had copied the stag logo/badge of the bicycle manufacturer which had created and established the brand back in December 2008.
Rich Energy CEO William Storey and his logo designer StaxoWeb Ltd denied copyright infringement, claiming their own logo was designed without any reference to, or to the knowledge of, the Whyte Bikes design.
Judge Melissa Clarke summed up her decision, “What is sought, amongst other things, is an injunction which would require the removal of the logo of the First Defendant, Rich Energy Limited, from the Formula 1 race car and website of the Rich Energy Haas Formula 1 motor racing team.”
The stag logo appears on the cockpit, halo and front wing endplates of the Haas VF19 as part of Rich Energy’s title sponsorship of the American team.
Judge Clarke ruled that Rich Energy had produced a copy of the Whyte Bikes logo which infringed their copyright, which gave Whyte the right to an injunction and damages or an account of Rich Energy’s profits. “I am satisfied that some of Mr. Storey’s evidence was incorrect or misleading and that he was involved in the manufacture of documents during the course of litigation to provide additional support for the Defendants’ case."
“I do not accept either Mr. Storey or Mr. Kelly as credible or reliable witnesses and I treat all of their evidence with a high degree of caution.”
“I am satisfied on the balance of probabilities that both Mr. Kelly and Mr. Storey have lied about not being familiar with C’s Device (Whyte’s logo). I find it more likely than not that they were familiar with it, and that they directly and knowingly copied C’s Device in designing D1’s Device (Rich Energy’s logo).”
Following the court decision, Rich Energy tweeted: “Today the judgment was released in the claim brought by (Whyte Bikes) against us in respect of our stag logo. We are disappointed with the judgment and the findings of the judge which run counter to our submissions. We are considering all of our legal options, including appeal.”
Latest News
Loading
