Haas F1 sponsor Rich Energy denied appeal after court case loss

Rich Energy, the title sponsor of the Haas Formula 1 team, has been ordered to provide full financial details of its dealings having been denied an appeal after losing its court case.

The British-based energy drink company, which became the title sponsor for Haas ahead of this season, lost its legal battle against ATB Sales Limited after being accused of copying Whyte Bikes’ stag logo following a ruling at the High Court in London in May.

As part of its copyright infringement claim, Whyte Bikes sought the removal of Rich Energy’s stag logo from both Haas’ 2019 F1 car and the team’s official website. The stag logo was subsequently dropped from the team’s livery ahead of the Canadian Grand Prix in June.

The matter was adjourned until a hearing on June 27 and the latest development of the court case has now come to light following the disclosure of details by the Intellectual Property Enterprise Court this week.

The court order - made last Thursday by judge Melissa Clarke - confirms that Rich Energy has been denied the right to appeal the judgement.

Rich Energy has been ordered to remove the stag logo from all products in the UK by July 18 and provide total sales figures (both in the UK and globally) on all products bearing the logo to date by August 1, including financial details about its F1 sponsorship deal with Haas.

It has also been asked to provide:

"Figures showing: Any sums of money invested in or made available to the First Defendant [Rich Energy], including for the avoidance of doubt sums invested in or made available to the First Defendant in connection with its sponsorship of the Haas F1 Team;

"Any sums of money invested by third parties in any other company or entity controlled by the Second Defendant [Rich Energy CEO William Storey] in connection with and/or pursuant to the First Defendant's sponsorship of the Haas F1 Team;

"Full details of any sums of money paid or payable to the Haas F1 Team pursuant to the First Defendant's sponsorship of the Haas F1 Team, indicating in each case whether such sums were paid or payable by the First Defendant or by any other entity;

"An estimate of the proportion of the £50,000 paid to the Third Defendant [logo designer Staxoweb Limited] to produce, inter alia, a logo for the First Defendant which is attributable to the work of designing of a logo as part of that commission, and an explanation of how that estimate was reached."

In addition, Rich Energy must pay the claimant’s costs of £35,416 within 14 days of the court order, with the deadline falling on July 13.