Robby Gordon launched his new Speed Energy drink last week in hopes of generating enough revenue for him to race next season.
But his Speed Energy drink has hit a speed bump. Gordon hopes the rollout of the drink doesn’t get stalled by the “S” logo on his car, driver uniform and on the drink bottle.
Gordon has sued Specialized Bicycle Components, which had sent him a cease-and-desist letter over his logo. Specialized now seeks an injunction in U.S. District Court in California to keep Gordon from using the logo he has used periodically since June on his race car in advance of the product launch last week. Specialized alleges that Gordon’s logo is too similar to its logo.
If Specialized prevails at the injunction hearing Nov. 15 and Gordon must change his labeling and logos before being able to sell the product, he might not be able to compete in NASCAR next year, Gordon said in court documents.
“If Speed Energy is unable to sell its energy drink products, it will not be able to sponsor our team in 2011,” Gordon said in a statement to the court filed last week. “Without that sponsorship and the resulting revenue, … our NASCAR team would be devastated.
“We would no longer be in a position to field cars and personnel at race events.”
Gordon, who filed his lawsuit in September, claims that he’s not in the bicycle business and therefore there cannot be confusion between the two logos. His Robby Gordon Motorsports organizations fields teams in NASCAR's Sprint Cup Series with an occasional start in the Nationwide Series.
“We have expended millions of dollars in marketing costs, production costs, and legal and administrative expenses,” Gordon said in the filing. “If we are not allowed to go to market with the Speed Energy products, the products that we have produced will become worthless, and the financial future of Speed Energy and its ability to go forward will be doubtful.
“It is our plan to have Speed Energy serve as the primary sponsor for our NASCAR team in 2011 and beyond. At this point, we have fully committed to that sponsorship program, and our team does not have other options.”
For the last six years, Gordon has owned his own team. He has pieced together sponsorship with Menards, Jim Beam and other companies.
He currently is fielding a car that has been driven this year by himself and rookie Kevin Conway, who has sponsorship from Extenze.
The energy drink is Gordon’s vision of a new way of NASCAR sponsorship, and the lawsuit with Specialized was an unexpected snag. Specialized alleges that there could be confusion with people who think Gordon or his drink are affiliated with Specialized.
The Specialized logo has been in use for 28 years.
“[Gordon has] engaged in unlawful, unfair or fraudulent business practices and deceptive, untrue or misleading advertising and [has] intentionally caused a likelihood of confusion among the purchasing public,” Specialized says in a court filing.
Gordon says his logo is different because it is shaped more like a lightning bolt. His is orange – which he said is a carryover from his days driving for Cingluar – while Specialized’s primary logo is more red.
Specialized isn’t buying it, especially because it sponsors a cycling team in partnership with Monster energy drink – a former sponsor of Gordon.
“The parties’ marketing channels substantially overlap,” Specialized says in its filing.
An e-mail requesting comment from Specialized was not answered. Gordon referred all questions to his attorney, Steven Nichols, who also is his partner in Speed Energy.
“I’m confident we proceeded in good faith,” Nichols said in an interview. “The beverage business should not be an issue [with Specialized]. … There’s been a lot of money and a lot of resources invested in these marks.”
Specialized, in a filing Monday, noted that Gordon could have changed the logo before the launch last week. All it is asking is for Gordon to change the logo.
“[Gordon and his partners] make no showing why substituting a new label would create ‘devastating harm,’” Specialized’s filing states. “Moreover, importantly, [they] have proceeded with their planned launch in full disregard of Specialized’s rights. [They] have knowingly made a bet that they could get away with using their Speed S Logo and they must now accept the consequences if that bet proves to be a bad one.”
