Legal Row Over Ring Naming Rights

At a preliminary hearing at the regional court in Koblenz June 23, the judge said both Lieberberg and the Formula One track had “common ownership” of the event title and advised both parties to come to an agreement outside of court. Following the preliminary hearing, both sides have a week to settle the issue between them or ready themselves for a legal battle starting in the Koblenz regional court June 30.

Faced with DEAG chief Peter Schwenkow and a festival team of Wizard Promotions chief Ossy Hoppe, son Oliver and recently acquired UK promoter Stuart Galbraith taking over his slot in the diary to present a new festival at the Nürburgring called “Green Hell – Rockfestival am Nürburgring,” Lieberberg was looking to move his event to another venue, most likely the former NATO base at Rheindahlen or another former military airfield at Mendig.

Although Lieberberg has the rights to stage an event called Rock Am Ring, the court indicated that Nürburgring GmbH has other ancillary naming rights.

Its initial opinion was that Lieberberg would need the agreement of Capricorn – the race track’s new owners – before he could stage Rock am Ring at a different venue.

On hearing of Lieberberg’s plans to shift Rock am Ring to a new location, Nürburgring GmbH asked the German Patent and Trade Office to grant an injunction to prevent him from doing so.