[F1] Lotus Racing, Group Lotus & Proton

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Frederik
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[F1] Lotus Racing, Group Lotus & Proton

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Press release from : Lotus Racing

LOTUS RACING, GROUP LOTUS & PROTON
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia 28th September 2010


SM Nasarudin, Kamarudin Meranun and Tony Fernandes, the three shareholders of Lotus Racing, announced on Friday 24th September that Team Lotus is back in Formula One™ from 2011. Lotus Racing has competed in the 2010 FIA Formula One World Championship under licence from Group Lotus parent company Proton, and today Lotus Racing Chief Executive Officer Riad Asmat shed more light on why Team Lotus is coming back for the first time since 1994 in the 2011 Championship.

Riad Asmat: "This has been an incredible year for everyone associated with Lotus Racing. Last week we brought Team Lotus back to the Formula One grid when we announced that we had bought Team Lotus Ventures from David Hunt, and would be racing as the successor to one of the most iconic names in world motorsport. 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™.

"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.

"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% 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. In fact, in the licence agreement between 1Malaysia Racing and Group Lotus the use of the Team Lotus name is expressly prohibited as they had agreed contractually, as long ago as 1985, that they had not rights to use that name. That was obviously something we had enormous respect for, and made no attempt to change until we could do so rightfully, and with a very clear understanding of what we had acquired in Team Lotus Ventures.

"So now the licence we ran under this year has been withdrawn by Group Lotus, and while we accept that this obviously means we have reached the end of that chapter, it opens up a new and very exciting one for everyone in our team. There will have to be some discussions with Proton and Group Lotus about the entitlement to terminate the licence. 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. However the important thing is to look at what we are doing to guarantee future success. We have already invested heavily in ensuring the Malaysian / ASEAN motorsports platform grows, something that cannot be said for our colleagues at Group Lotus. We created a world first when we ran Nabil Jeffri in our aero test earlier this year - the youngest ever F1 test driver. Fairuz has been gaining invaluable experience at the highest level by driving for us, and, through Tony and Din’s AirAsia Driver Development programme, we are giving young Malaysian / ASEAN talent the chance to reach the top. We are so proud to have laid the foundations for future success, and our fans acknowledge this every day. Personally I think it’s odd that our colleagues at Group Lotus have not embraced what we are giving them – a global platform for creating huge awareness and great value for their operations, all at no cost to them. In one year we have made huge strides in the growth of Lotus Racing, and now it’s all about Team Lotus.”
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Re: [F1] Lotus Racing, Group Lotus & Proton

Bericht door Frederik »

Voor de niet engelstaligen:

Lotus: "Wij zijn rechthebber van naam Team Lotus"
27 september 2010

Het Formule 1-team van Lotus weerspreekt dat de naam Team Lotus volgend jaar niet gebruikt mag worden. Eerder liet Group Lotus-eigenaar Proton, dat dit jaar een licentie aan het Formule 1-team had gegeven om Lotus als teamnaam te gebruiken, weten stappen te ondernemen, maar het Formule 1-team maakt zich daar geen zorgen over.

“Vorige week hebben we Team Lotus terug in de Formule 1 gebracht, door Team Lotus Ventures van David Hunt over te kopen. Dit jaar reden we met een licentie van Group Lotus, maar door het kopen van Team Lotus Ventures, kunnen we vanaf 2011 de naam Team Lotus gebruiken”, vertelde Riad Asmat, directeur van Lotus Racing. “We gaan het nieuwe seizoen ook in met het volste vertrouwen dat we de rechthebbenden op de naam zijn.”

“Dat wordt tegengesproken door Group Lotus, en we willen daarop reageren, zodat er geen onduidelijkheid ontstaat. We hebben een rechtszaak aangespannen bij de Engelse rechtbank. We zijn ervan overtuigd dat Team Lotus Ventures de rechten heeft op het gebruik van de naam Team Lotus.”, vervolgde Asmat. “Kort geleden heeft Group Lotus de naam Team Lotus proberen te registreren, maar is hier niet in geslaagd.”

“De hele discussie over de licentie gaat werkelijk nergens over. Het was een licentie voor een jaar, met sponsoring van Proton. Op het moment dat we de overeenkomst sloten, heeft Group Lotus ons duidelijk gemaakt dat we de naam Team Lotus niet mochten gebruiken, omdat ze hier geen rechten op had. We hebben dit ook nooit proberen te veranderen, tot we dat op juiste wijze konden doen, door het kopen van Team Lotus Ventures.”

bron : GPUpdate.net
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Re: [F1] Lotus Racing, Group Lotus & Proton

Bericht door Frederik »

Gascoyne snapt niets van commotie over naam
6 november 2010

Mike Gascoyne snapt niet waar de commotie omtrent de naam van Lotus vandaan komt. Op vrijdag werd bekend dat Renault motoren zal leveren aan het team, maar werd in het persbericht steevast gesproken over 1Malaysia, wat de geruchten over een samenwerking tussen Group Lotus en Renault deed toenemen.

De naam van het bedrijf is nou eenmaal 1Malaysia, dus dat is de naam waar de contracten mee worden afgesloten”, zei Gascoyne. “Het contract van Cosworth was met 1Malaysia, het contract van Renault is met 1Malaysia, mijn contract is met 1Malaysia en de contracten van alle werknemers zijn met 1Malaysia.

Het is nog altijd niet duidelijk of Lotus volgend jaar wel de naam Team Lotus mag gebruiken. Het team heeft de licentie wel gekocht van David Hunt, maar Group Lotus, dat 1Malaysia een licentie had gegeven om als Lotus Racing door het leven te gaan, meent de rechtmatige eigenaar te zijn. “Zoals iedereen weet, loopt het onderzoek nog”, zei Gascoyne daarover. “Wat betreft het bekendmaken van de overeenkomst met Renault, is er echter niets aan de hand.
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Re: [F1] Lotus Racing, Group Lotus & Proton

Bericht door Frederik »

soap :)
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