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English High Court to Hear Force India/Lotus Case in 2012

The Group Lotus vs Team Lotus saga is not the only legal case connected to the world of Formula 1 that has been making the headlines in recent months. Another row, involving the same Team Lotus, regards a potential infringement of intellectual property from Tony Fernandes team towards Force India Mercedes.

According to a press release issued by the Silverstone based team, the case will not be heard by the English High Court until January 16 next year.

The English High Court has set aside week commencing 16 January 2012 to hear the intellectual property infringement claim by Force India F1 Team Ltd. against a) 1 Malaysia Racing Team SDN BHD, b) 1 Malaysia Racing Team (UK) Ltd, c) Michael Gascoyne and d) Aerolab Srl,” said a statement from Force India.

For those of you unfamiliar with the case, we'll remind you that Force India parted ways with aerodynamic engineering firm Aerolab at the end of 2009, and the latter joined hands with Tony Fernandes' team shortly after.

A few weeks later, Vijay Mallya's organization accused Aerolab of using the designs of its 2009-spec car in the wind tunnel to help Lotus F1 Racing develop its 2010 challenger. However, in parallel with Force India's legal proceedings, Aerolab has sued Mallya's organization back for unpaid fees.

"Separate criminal proceedings are currently ongoing in Italy in respect of the wrongful disclosure of confidential information, as a consequence of the filing by Force India F1 Team Ltd. of a complaint with the competent authorities. In respect of these proceedings, articles in the Italian press have recently revealed that Tony Fernandes, Mike Gascoyne and Jean Claude Migeot have been formally charged."

"No further comment will be made until the hearings have concluded and a decision announced," added the statement.
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