Formula E acquires IP rights to the W Series

• All-electric series has no short-term plans for asset
• Formula E paid £110,000 for intellectual property

Formula E has acquired the intellectual property rights (IP) to the former all-female W Series.

The groundbreaking championship, which played a key role in launching the careers of drivers such as Jamie Chadwick, was discontinued in June 2023 after three seasons.

The insolvency administrator’s latest progress report dated July 16 shows that the rights to the series have been transferred to Formula E.

The statement said: “The company owned intellectual property consisting of trademarks, pending trademark applications, social media accounts and domain names.”

“After receiving interest from various quarters, an agreement was reached with Formula E Operations Limited and the intellectual property rights were transferred for a total of £110,000 plus VAT. This sale was completed on 28 March 2024 and steps are underway to assign worldwide transfers.”

Formula E CEO Jeff Dodds announced that this is a long-term project for Formula E that could take many different forms.

“We have been very honest and open about our focus on bringing more diversity to motorsport and we think FE is a great place to do that,” he told Formula Scout.

“That doesn’t necessarily mean gender diversity, it doesn’t mean we’re trying to get more women drivers. Although I would love to do that. But we also had disabled driver Robert Wickens (at the wheel) in Portland.

“We just want to give different people the opportunity to try out cars and realise their potential in motorsport. And I thought the W Series was a really brave attempt to do that for women in racing.”

“It didn’t work out for them. They got great footage, great intellectual property, great name recognition and great attention. So we wanted to acquire that in the hope that we could use it in some way in the future to promote women in motorsport.”

BlackBook Motorsport understands that there are currently no immediate plans for a W Series, however this provides an opportunity for Formula E to potentially develop the brand and its assets and leverage them more in the future.

Dodds added to Formula Scout that Formula E would “not necessarily” use the IP rights for an on-track product.

He continued: “We could do all sorts of things with it. That’s why we started Girls on Track as a massive campaign to get more young women interested in STEM subjects and motorsports.”

“So we might look at using the W Series branding for something like that. It doesn’t have to be on the track, it could be on the track. So we haven’t even thought about what we could do with it.

“I just thought it was a good opportunity to have this asset as our goal is to bring more women into motorsport.”

BlackBook says…

There may be no plans for this asset in the short term, but it is another sign that Formula E is striving for a level playing field in its own series.

The championship has doubled participation in its Girls on Track initiative this season and is set to welcome more than 2,000 participants in the 2024 season.

Formula E is also making significant changes in visible positions: this year alone, Tiziana di Gioia, Beth Paretta, Charlotte Sefton and Ellie Norman have been appointed to influential roles.

With Formula E currently struggling with cost issues, the prospects of establishing a junior series under the W Series brand in the near future are naturally slim. However, acquiring the rights creates opportunities for more diversity in the long term.