The Vanwall name is inextricably linked to the history of British motorsport, particularly Formula 1, as in 1958 the Vandervell Products Ltd. team, running Vanwall cars, became the first to win the Constructors’ Championship. But now there is a lawsuit going on for this brand between two companies, and both are not only claiming it, but using it in their business, and we’ve talked about the different stages of this process.
One of these companies, British company Vanwall 1958, is owned by entrepreneur Ian Sanderson, who in 2020 announced plans to build six replicas of the VW 5 used by Tony Brooks and Stirling Moss in 1957-1958. won nine victories in Formula 1. However, the implementation of the project has not yet begun, because so far no one has been willing to pay 1.65 million pounds for this remake.
The second is the company of Colin Kolles, a well-known man in motorsport. His ByKolles team is racing this year’s endurance race called Vanwall Racing in a sports prototype Vanderwell 680. The car, as you might guess, is also named after Tony Wonderwell, founder of the historic Vanwall team.
All this the team is doing despite the decision of the European Commission for the Protection of Intellectual Property (EUIPO) to ban it.
“They’re actually breaking the law,” Sanderson said in an interview with British Motor Sport. When journalists from the publication turned to Kolles, he declined to comment.
The race at Portimão ended for Vanwall Racing with a wrecked car sliding off the track due to a faulty brake, while Jacques Villeneuve, who was working with the Colles team, was driving. This creates additional problems in preparation for the 24 Hours of Le Mans, where she is expected to speak, although some viewed the incident as some kind of punishment from above for the illegal use of the historic name.
As the team tries to protest the EUIPO decision, it is believed that it has not yet formally entered into force. The FIA is also not commenting on the situation, believing such legal disputes do not fall within the remit of the federation.
If Kolles’ appeal is rejected, his team will not be able to participate in the WEC under its old name, but it is not yet clear how the events will develop further. The fact is that according to the rules of the World Endurance Championship, all teams competing in the Hypercars category must be somehow connected to car brands.
“We are happy that the Kolles team will continue to race like ByKolles and not like Vanwall,” said Sanderson. “In general, all this is simply incomprehensible. We own this brand and that is a fact. But they appealed. It is interesting to see on what grounds, given that the original EUIPO decision is written in 14 pages, including the ban on commercial use of the mark.”
Since the previous process took two years, it seems that this story will not end soon.
Source: F1 News
I am Christopher Clyde, an experienced journalist and content writer with a passion for sports. I have been writing about Formula 1 news for the past five years and am currently employed as an author at athletistic.com, one of the top sports websites in the US.
