Retro scooter brand Scomadi says it intends to appeal against a High Court decision that found in favour of Chinese manufacturer Hanway which had attempted to establish the Royal Alloy brand using the same platform as Scomadi but with styling differences.
Lancaster-registered Scomadi had wanted to prevent Royal Alloy (previously Royalloy) scooters coming into the EU via importer/distributor MotoGB.
In a statement, Scomadi said: “The High Court has now given judgment on the first part of the dispute between this company, MotoGB and Hanway. Our company was successful in relation to the validity of its key registered designs and the infringement of one of those designs by the Royal Alloy GT. In particular our 2004 Registered Community Designs were declared valid and made a different impression particularly when compared with the old Lambretta scooter designs.
“The court has held that Hanway is entitled to make some models by virtue of a contractual licence. This will be subject to the payment of royalties to us. We do not accept the court’s decision on the contractual licence and we are seeking to appeal the same. Unfortunately, therefore, the dispute between the companies continues.
“The important news is that Scomadi is the exclusive owner of its trademarks and will continue to supply its dealers with its current and prospective range of models. So as far as we are concerned, business as usual!”
The statement continued that Scomadi was still accepting orders for the TL range of models which are in transit to the UK along with a wide selection of spare parts.
The company says it will also be exhibiting at Motorcycle Live show in Birmingham (18-26 November) where we plan to exhibit our new premium Scomadi TT (Turismo Technica) model for the first time in the UK, prior to the official launch anticipated in early 2018.
The Scomadi retro scooter brand was established by Frank Sanderson (Scooter Innovation) Paul Melici (PM Tuning) and Robert Oolsthorn who were previously getting their scooters built by Hanway in China, but have now set up a new factory in Thailand following some disagreements with their Chinese partners. Scomadi says it has a raft of Euro 4 models in the pipeline including a water-cooled 125 and a Morini-powered Scomadi 400.
Chorley-based MotoGB distributes motorcycles and scooters from Sym, Keeway, Benelli, Royal Enfield, Daelim, Hyosung, Hanway and F.B Mondial.
Pictured are Paul Melici and Frank Sanderson