Formula E buys IP rights to W Series

• All-electric series has no short-term plans for asset
• Formula E paid UK£110k for IP rights

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

The pioneering championship, which was instrumental in launching the careers of female drivers like Jamie Chadwick, entered administration after three seasons in June 2023. 

The latest administrator’s progress report, issued on 16th July, revealed that ownership of the series’ rights had passed to Formula E.

The statement read: ‘The company owned IPR comprising trademarks, pending trademark applications, social media accounts and domain names.

‘Having received interest from various parties, an agreement was reached with Formula E Operations Limited and the IPR was assigned for a total of UK£110,000 plus VAT. This sale completed on 28 March 2024 and steps are ongoing to concluded [sic] worldwide assignments.’

Jeff Dodds, chief executive of Formula E, revealed that this is a long-term project for Formula E, which could take many different forms.

“What we’ve been really honest and open about is we are very focused on bringing more diversity to motorsport. We think FE is a great place to do that,” he told Formula Scout.

“So that doesn’t necessarily mean gender diversity, doesn’t mean we’re trying to get more women than drive. Although I’d love to do that. But also, we had disabled driver Robert Wickens [driving] in Portland.

“So we just want to give opportunities for different people to try cars and to to realise their potential in motorsports. And W Series I thought was a a really valiant effort to do that for women racing.

“It didn’t work out for them. They got some great footage, some great IP, some great name recognition, some great awareness. So we wanted to acquire that on the off-chance that we could use that in the future, in some way, shape or form, in order to promote women in motorsports.”

BlackBook Motorsport understands that there are currently no immediate plans for W Series, but it gives Formula E a chance to potentially develop and leverage the brand and its assets moving forward.

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 any sort of thing with it. So we have Girls on Track as a massive promotion, trying to get more young women into STEM subjects, in motorsport.

“So we could try and use the W Series branding around something like that. It doesn’t have to be on track, it might be on track. So we haven’t even thought about what we might do with it.

“I just thought it was a good opportunity to have the asset because we are focused on bringing more women into motorsport.”

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BlackBook says…

There may be no short-term plans for this asset, but it is another sign of Formula E’s desire to strive for equal opportunities in its own series.

The championship doubled participation in its Girls on Track initiative this season, welcoming more than 2,000 participants during the 2024 campaign. 

Formula E is also making meaningful moves in visible positions, having appointed Tiziana di Gioia, Beth Paretta, Charlotte Sefton, and Ellie Norman to influential roles this year alone.

Of course, with Formula E struggling to get its costs under control at the moment, the prospects of using the W Series brand to create a feeder series anytime soon are slim. But, the move to acquire the rights creates opportunities for greater diversity in the long term.