Prithvi Shaw’s marketing firm seeks heavy compensation from Swiggy, FreeCharge

In this age of brutal brand preservation, the slightest of slip can land one in deep trouble. Youngster Prithvi Shaw slammed his maiden Test hundred in his debut match against the Windies recently in Rajkot and amid all the positive vibes, there were also some not-so-good experiences for a couple of firms who used the batsman’s name to invite legal wrath.

Baseline Ventures, the sports marketing firm which manages Shaw’s commercial interests, have sent notices to Swiggy and FreeCharge – a food delivery and e-commerce website, respectively – on charges of using Shaw’s name without its authorisation in tweets and also sought Rs 1 crore in compensation from each of them. Shaw became the youngest Indian to score a ton in his debut Test and the cricketing world was overwhelmed by his big arrival on international stage.

Here are the tweets

‘Unfair to players’ achievements’

“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. We will be taking legal recourse against other firms too, who have resorted to similar ambush marketing communications,” Tuhin Mishra, MD of Baseline Ventures was quoted as saying by NavBharat Times. Mishra also called the tweets disappointing.

It was known that Swiggy confirmed that they have received the notice and their legal team was dealing with it.
Shaw signed a multi-year deal with Baseline Ventures last year and the firm currently manages the player’s commercial interests.

The right-handed opening batsman, who replaced Shikhar Dhawan in the Test team, hit 134 off 154 balls in the Test to give India a solid start in the encounter. India saw two other players – captain Virat Kohli and spinner-all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja – also hitting centuries in the match and the hosts won the game by an innings and 272 runs to go 1-0 up in the two-Test series. The final Test will be played in Hyderabad from October 12.

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