This week, A$AP Rocky has been named Creative Director of the partnership between Formula 1 and PUMA whereby the sport and lifestyle brand will be the exclusive licensee and trackside retailer of F1 and team merchandise at Grand Prix races.

What does it mean for PUMA to be the exclusive licensee?

Copyright describes the rights that a creator has over their artistic works. In order to prevent copyright infringement whereby a third party copies the artistic works without having the rights to do so, a licence can be granted. In this case, Formula 1 has copyrights in its merchandise and by granting PUMA a licence, it is permitting PUMA to sell the merchandise.

Licences can be exclusive or non-exclusive. The former excludes all other persons, including the licensor, from carrying out the licensed acts. Exclusive licenses must be in writing and signed by or on behalf of the copyright owner. The latter enables the licensor to continue exploiting the copyrights and grant additional licenses to third parties. As exclusive licensee, only PUMA (and subsidiary stichd, which has trackside vending rights to sell merchandise at fan retail stores at Grand Prix races) has the right to produce Formula 1 merchandise and sell it at Grand Prix races, as well as on its website and across its stores.

Commercial benefits of an exclusive licence

As exclusive licensee, PUMA will have a competitive edge over other sport and lifestyle brands in terms of its publicity and reach with Formula 1 and motorsport fans. PUMA and Formula 1 both have the ability to capture new audiences as the partnership gives them direct access to each other's industries. This also presents opportunities for unique collaborations, in this case motorsport and streetwear culture, the impact of which can be heightened further if a high-profile name becomes the face of the collaboration, such as A$AP Rocky. A recognisable face/name can help to market the partnership and retain audience engagement enabling multiple bespoke capsule collections to be launched. 

PUMA is no newbie when it comes to collaborations with modern culture shapers, such as Rihanna and Dua Lipa, and its partnership with Formula 1, supported by the exclusive licence, should prove to be a lucrative commercial move.