Exel says it has won another round in its legal dispute against its Finnish competitor One Way Sport over their sponsorship of Raphaël Poirée, the French biathlon hero who won again in the world championships in Anterselva, Italy. At the beginning of the current winter season Poirée did not continue to work with Exel, but signed a sponsoring agreement with the other Finnish manufacturer of ski poles. At that time, Exel had already prepared some advertising tools in order to promote its products with the support of the French testimonial. The verdict of a Finnish court last November halted Exel’s promotion campaign using Poirée as testimonial, but it was doubtful whether Exel could be forced to ask its dealers to send back all the related advertisement material that had already reached the mail boxes of the sports stores. More recently, a Finnish court of appeals finally ruled that Exel is not required to do so.

Exel’s latest success in court does not necessarily mean that the whole affair is settled. We hear that One Way still feels that it was damaged by the continuation of Exel’s Poirée campaign although the company’s contract with the athlete had already expired, even if it had not been intentional. It may be that the two Finnish companies will have to look for a settlement inside or outside a court of law, and the whole issue may drag on for one or two more years.