Sports marketing firm, Baseline Ventures – known to manage sports-stars such Ravindra Jadeja, PV Sindhu and recently Prithvi Shaw – has sent a cease and desist notice to online food-delivery chain, Swiggy and e-commerce website Freelcharge - seeking compensation of 1 crore from each of the firms for wrongly using Shaw's name for ‘commercial purposes’, Business Today reported quoting The Economic Times.
According to the report, the action was taken after both Swiggy and Freecharge used Shaw's name and face in their respective tweets, without seeking prior permission from neither Baseline Ventures nor Shaw. The company reportedly claimed that these actions by the two firms not only violates Baselines’ exclusive rights but also the Trademarks Act, 1996.
Speaking to The Economic Times, Tuhin Mishra, Managing Director of Baseline Ventures said that the tweets were disappointing and unfair to Shaw's current and potential sponsors who play by the 'rule book.'
“This is not only unfair to the player’s achievements but also to other genuine current sponsors and potential sponsors of Prithvi who pay to associate and play by the rule books.”Tuhin Mishra
Both the companies have deleted the tweets following the legal notices.
On 5 October, Shaw became the second-youngest Indian – after Sachin Tendulkar – to score a Test century for India. Indian beat West Indies by innings and 272 runs.
(At The Quint, we question everything. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member today.)