Ferrari S.p.A. and Facebook, Inc. are getting sued by a Swiss father and son for allegedly seizing control of their Ferrari fan pages.
According to Bloomberg, Oliver and Sammy Wasem have filed the lawsuit in California state court – right after a legal conflict in Europe between them and the Italian automaker over two of their Facebook pages: “Ferrari Fan Page” and “Formula 1 Vision.”
Sammy created the “Ferrari Fan Page” in 2008, when he was just fifteen years old. It eventually gained over half a million followers, eclipsing the actual Ferrari brand page. In March of 2009, Ferrari sent Sammy and his father, Olivier, an email that congratulated them on this milestone and also stated the following: “Unfortunately, legal issues force us in taking over the formal administration of the fan page.”
The family agreed to let the automaker make their page the official Ferrari page, and soon after, Ferrari assigned administrators and other employees to work on the page without consulting the Wasems. According to the family, they did not sign a written contract before giving away the page, continuing to work on it for four years without receiving anything in writing.
They eventually filed a lawsuit in Switzerland in February of 2013, claiming that they wanted to be compensated for 5,500 hours of their work. Days later, Ferrari countersued them for violating the automaker’s trademark rights. The Wasems have stated that Ferrari excluded them completely from both pages later that month, and renamed the Formula One page as “SF Scuderia Ferrari.”
On October 14, the Wasems have a filed a complaint regarding the issue with San Mateo Superior Court, being legally represented by the Farella Braun & Martell law firm. “Ferrari wanted it,” the complaint stated in relation to the pages. “So, with Facebook’s knowledge and substantial assistance, Ferrari took it.”
The Wasems and their legal representatives claim that the fan pages have attracted over 19 million fans, with each being worth between $174 and $1,000 in advertising.
