FIFA will not allow German F1 driver Nico Rosberg to use an image of the World Cup trophy on his helmet for this weekend's German Grand Prix, as the organization is "keen to enforce its 'intellectual property rights,'" according to Sarah Ebner of the LONDON TIMES. Rosberg on Tuesday "tweeted a picture of the commemorative headware." But FIFA "did not like the design, which was in German national colours and included a depiction of the World Cup trophy and four stars for Germany’s four World Cup triumphs." FIFA contacted Rosberg's manager, Georg Nolte, to "inform him his driver would have to remove the image due to an infringement of its rights" (LONDON TIMES, 7/18). In London, Daniel Johnson notes Rosberg's helmet "still had the trophy emblazoned on the top" when F1 arrived at the track Thursday. It had been changed with "one larger star in place of the trophy" by the time of the drivers' afternoon press conference. Rosberg: "It’s amazing that even a trophy has its trademark, just sticking it on a helmet." Johnson notes Italian F1 driver Jarno Trulli in '06 "used an image of the trophy on his helmet" during a race following Italy's World Cup win that year "with no sanction" (London TELEGRAPH, 7/18).
