KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 28 — Datuk Seri Tony Fernandes announced today that his 1 Malaysia racing team will ask a British High Court to declare that Tune Group owns the rights to use the Team Lotus name.
Yesterday, national carmaker Proton insisted that it will resist any attempt by Fernandes to use the name “Team Lotus” in the F1 season next year, saying it has now terminated his 1 Malaysia Racing Team’s rights to the Lotus Racing name for 2011.
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.
However, Lotus Racing CEO Riad Asmat disputed Nadzmi’s claims, insisting that the Lotus Racing name belonged to Team Lotus Ventures, which is a part of Fernandez’s Tune Group.
Tune Group had bought over Team Lotus Ventures earlier this month.
“This year, we have established ourselves as the leading new team in Formula One as a licensee of Group Lotus, and, although we all dreamt of bringing Team Lotus back to where it belongs, we could not do so in 2010 because those rights were owned by Team Lotus Ventures.
“As Tune Group has now bought Team Lotus Ventures it means we can now use the Team Lotus name for 2011 and beyond. We are all delighted we can go into 2011 with total confidence in what we own, and what we can take to the track.
“However, given that this is contested by Group Lotus we think now is the time to clear this matter up so there can be no further arguments. We have therefore today issued proceedings in the English High Court for a declaration that Team Lotus Ventures has the rights to use the Team Lotus name and everything associated with that brand in relation to Formula One™,” said Riad in a statement today.
Riad, who was formerly Proton General Manager claimed that his old company had tried to purchase the rights of Team Lotus Ventures from its owner David Hunt, but was unsuccessful.
“Racing under the Team Lotus name from 2011 means our licence with Group Lotus has now come to an end. In reality, this has nothing to do with how we will go racing in 2011, as the ownership of Team Lotus has been clearly defined for many years. David was approached a number of times about selling the rights of Team Lotus Ventures, including one official offer of from Proton / Group Lotus themselves. That must have been tempting for David, as the rightful owner of the Team Lotus brand and its rights. Oddly enough, Group Lotus also recently tried to revoke the Team Lotus trade marks at a hearing at the Trade Mark Registry, but they were unsuccessful. I suspect David’s misgivings about their previous offer to buy were justified by that action,” said the Lotus Racing CEO.
Riad dismissed the on-going licensing debate as a “non-issue,” saying that Proton/ Group Lotus had themselves informed Lotus Racing this year that the 1 Malaysia racing team could not use the word “Team Lotus” because Proton/Group Lotus did not own the rights to the Team Lotus name.
Riad added that Lotus Racing understood that, and was only claiming the rights of the Lotus name now because it had successfully bought over the rights of Team Lotus Ventures.
“The licence debate really is a non-issue. It was a simple licence, attached to a one year sponsorship deal with Proton for 2010 alone, and in fact for a tiny proportion of the amount invested by the shareholders into the team — approximately 1.5 per cent of the total budget.
“Unfortunately we never reached the point where we discussed extending that one year deal. When we signed our licence to compete as Lotus Racing with Group Lotus, they were very clear that we could not make any reference to Team Lotus as they had no rights at all to the Team Lotus name or its rights.”
The Lotus Racing CEO slammed Proton/ Group Lotus’ statement, saying that its arguments over the Lotus brand name was “trivial” and suggested that the national carmaker was ungrateful to the racing team despite being given mass exposure and a global platform in less than a year.
“Frankly, they are trying to say that some very trivial points, including t-shirt design approvals of all things, gave them the right to terminate, but we thoroughly reject this.
“Now we look to the future. The details of what has been going on behind the scenes are now coming to light, and that’s good because it means the shareholders of Proton, the government, will now know the truth of what has been going on.
Insiders have however pinned the dispute on Lotus CEO Dany Bahar, claiming that he is responsible for influencing the recent decisions of Proton/ Group Lotus.
Proton’s statement yesterday maintained that the national carmaker remained the sole authority over the use of the Lotus name in F1, stating that it had terminated its licence to Fernandes’
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 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.
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.
Fernandes has so far refused to comment further on the latest developments between Proton and his Lotus Racing team.
