Proton challenges Tune Group over Lotus name in F1
How much Taxpayers' money has been burnt on this nonsense ?
Proton Holdings Bhd chairman Datuk Seri Mohd Nadzmi Mohd Salleh said the carmaker’s Group Lotus owns the rights to the iconic name for the team that was launched by Lotus founder Colin Chapman.
“We are the owners of this brand, and will take all necessary steps to protect it,” Nadzmi said in a statement today.
“Tony Fernandes has no rights to use the Lotus brand in the 2011 Formula 1 season, and we will strongly resist any attempts by him to use our brand without our permission and will withdraw our sponsorship of the Lotus Racing team,” he added, referring to the Air Asia group chief executive.
“With Proton’s agreement, Group Lotus has now terminated its licence to 1 Malaysia Racing Team to use the ‘Lotus Racing’ brand in the 2011 and future Formula 1 seasons as a result of the flagrant and persistent breaches of the licence by 1 Malaysia Racing Team, which were damaging to the ‘Lotus’ brand,” the carmaker said in the statement.
“This includes the use of the brand ‘Team Lotus’,” the statement said.
The carmaker said that until 1994, Group Lotus, the road car manufacturer and Team Lotus, which operated the Formula 1 team, were in common ownership with common directors.
“In 1994, Team Lotus failed and Lotus has not raced since. Since 1994, David Hunt has claimed to have acquired assets of Team Lotus, including its name, from the liquidator. He has never raced as Lotus. Mr Hunt’s attempt to acquire the name Team Lotus was ineffective.
“Group Lotus is the owner of all rights in the ‘Lotus’ automotive brand including those relating to Formula 1,” it said.
Group Lotus said it understands that Fernandes intends to rebrand the current “Lotus Racing” Formula 1 team to “Team Lotus” for the 2011 Formula 1 season.
“Mr Fernandes indicates that Tune Group has acquired the rights to the name ‘Team Lotus’ from a business formerly owned by David Hunt called Team Lotus Ventures Limited.
“Group Lotus believes these rights to have no proper legal foundation, a fact of which Mr Fernandes was well aware when his company purchased them,” the carmaker said in the statement.
The statement said Proton will support Group Lotus in protecting its rights in the “Lotus” name, including “resisting any attempts by Mr Fernandes or his companies, or any other unauthorised person, to use the ‘Lotus’ name in the 2011 Formula 1 season.”
Group Lotus is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Proton and runs Lotus Cars Limited, which has two operating divisions — Lotus Engineering and Lotus Cars. Lotus Engineering is an internationally recognised automotive engineering consultancy based in Norfolk, the United Kingdom.
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