Haas vs Steiner – The Battle Continues over $4.5M Dollars!
Gene Haas, founder of the Haas Formula 1 Team, has filed a countersuit against his former team principal, Gunther Steiner. This development comes just weeks after reports emerged of Steiner’s legal action against Haas in North Carolina, alleging non-payment of commissions owed to him.
According to court documents filed in the Central District of California, Western Division, Haas contends that Steiner and his publisher, Ten Speed Press, violated trademark regulations by publishing images that allegedly infringed upon Haas’ intellectual property rights.
The filing by Haas alleges that in 2023, Steiner authored, marketed, and profited from a publication titled “Surviving to Drive,” without obtaining permission from Haas Automation. The document claims that Steiner’s publication unlawfully utilized Haas Automation’s trademarks and trade dress for personal financial gain of up-to $4.5M dollars.
Despite Haas Automation’s efforts to address its concerns with Steiner, the company asserts that it received no satisfactory response, prompting the initiation of legal proceedings.
The court papers state, “Haas Automation gave pre-lawsuit notice to Steiner but to date Steiner has taken no action to cease or mitigate his infringing acts, necessitating the instant lawsuit.” Furthermore, they highlight Steiner’s alleged promotion and sale of the publication across various mediums, including print and digital, purportedly violating Haas Automation’s exclusive intellectual property rights.
Haas seeks damages from the defendants and has requested a trial by jury. The documents emphasize Haas’ ownership of federally registered trademarks for its CNC machine tools business and motorsport endeavors, citing specific photographs in Steiner’s book that are claimed to be unlawfully used.
The legal dispute arose following Steiner’s departure from Haas at the end of last year, after his contract was not renewed. Steiner, a prominent figure in Formula 1 circles, gained recognition through his appearances in the Netflix series “Drive to Survive.”
If the California court proceeds with the action, the central issue to be examined will likely revolve around whether Steiner and Ten Press’s use of the images constitutes fair use. Fair use provisions allow for the use of trademarks without consent for purposes such as commentary, criticism, news reporting, and comedy.
From friends to foes…. No one wins in this battle.
motorsport.com was the first to report.
Article by AutomotiveWoman.com Editor, Juliana Chiovitti, aka @AutomotiveWoman online.
IMAGES: F1
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