Australian Grand Prix launches legal action against A1 GP competition

0 Comments | AFP, September, 2005

SYDNEY (AFP) — The Australian Grand Prix corporation said it would launch legal action against the A1 GP championship, just days ahead of the breakaway competition's first race.

Corporation chairman Ron Walker said he had authorised legal proceedings following a breakdown in talks in London with A1 GP's lawyers over the use of the term 'grand prix.'

The Australian Grand Prix corporation believes that the use of the phrase "A1 Grand Prix" infringes on its intellectual property rights.

"It is unfortunate that the matter has come to this, however, the corporation must protect its valuable intellectual property in relation to the Grand Prix," Walker said in a statement.

The A1 Grand Prix, the brainchild of Sheikh Maktoum of Dubai, has been billed as the...