Ricciardo at centre of legal stoush over trademark 'shoey'

Formula 1 has attempted to trademark Daniel Ricciardo’s signature ‘shoey’ celebration, even though some Aussie surfers did so years ago.

Ricciardo most recently performed the trademark celebration when he won the Chinese Grand Prix last month.

The Aussie has even managed to get the likes of Sir Patrick Stewart, Gerard Butler and Mark Webber to drink from his shoe after winning races in recent times.

Fellow Aussies Jack Miller (MotoGP) and David Reynolds (Supercars) are also known to indulge in a shoey after winning races, with the gimmick going viral in recent years.

And according to The Independent, it’s become so mainstream that Formula 1 bosses have taken the extraordinary step of registering a “Shoey” trademark with the World Intellectual Property Organisation.

“It has been registered in 25 countries including the United States, Germany, Italy, France and the United Kingdom where it came into force on 4 January this year,” reports The Independent.

“The registration is only for one category but it’s a crucial one as it covers flasks, glasses, bottles, mugs, sculptures and figurines. So expect to see shoe-shaped beer steins and drinking trophies on sale over the coming months.”

However F1 was denied in attempts to trademark the term for use in commercial clothing production.

And that’s because the Aussie surfers behind ‘The Mad Hueys’ empire have already done so.

“The Shoey has been a popular celebration in Australia for around 15 years thanks to surfing and fishing brand, The Mad Hueys,” states the Independent.

“Dean and Shaun Harrington, known as the face of this brand, have been quoted saying they drunk Shoeys as early as 2002.

“As The Mad Hueys accelerated in popularity more personalities got in on the act with Ricciardo being one of the latest.”

The Mad Hueys are credited for making the shoey fashionable in surfing and fishing adventure videos dating back to 2002.

And Ricciardo is apparently friends with the Mad Hueys, putting him in a very awkward situation.

The Queenslanders are also said to be friends with Miller, hence why he performed a shoey after winning his first MotoGP race in 2016.

“The Shoey was handed down to us by our ancestors back in 1985 when I was born. And we’re keeping the tradition alive,” one of the Harrington twins told Stab Magazine in 2016.

“It’s pretty much just gone ham again now with Jack Miller starting it off. I went to the MotoGP and I was sitting with his mum and she goes, ‘oi, Jack wants to meet ya’. So we went to his little mobile caravan thing at Phillip Island in the pits and I just got dead nude and jumped into his race gear and started doing shoeys and s*** and then I dunno he just said to us the next time he gets on the podium he’s gonna do a ‘Shoey”, so he ended up winning and the rest is history.

“From there it went on to Daniel Ricciardo. I was so proud of him. Skolled it like a true champion; after doing a race a couple of hours long and all that sweat in there building up – it was a bit watered down but you gotta respect it.”