The family of Donald Campbell have won a battle to stop Bluebird's restorer registering a trademark in a bitter legal dispute.
Bill Smith, whose team rebuilt the wreckage of the hydroplane, insisted on Tuesday that he will continue his work with the Bluebird Project Group (BBP). He had applied to register that name with the Intellectual Property Office. The bid was opposed by Mr Campbell's nephew, Donald Wales.
Tyneside-based Bill, 57, said the ruling meant he would adjust his logo for merchandise. But he is continuing his work on Bluebird's engine, promotes the project in schools and is in demand for public speaking.
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"The plan is for the Bluebird Project to go on. This will not make a blind bit of difference," he said. "We have the Bluebird engine and it will run again, there is the possibility of another vehicle to put it in."
Campbell was killed in 1967 as he tried to push his water-speed record past 300mph (480 km/h) on Coniston Water in Cumbria. Bill located and salvaged Bluebird's wreckage in 2001, rebuilt it over a number of years, then fell into dispute with the Campbell family and the Ruskin Museum, where the rebuilt Bluebird is now homed.
Welcoming the ruling, Mr Wales said it meant Mr Smith had "no claim" to the Campbell family's intellectual property. "We'd previously given him the use of it with our blessing to help raise money for the rebuild through things like branded T-shirts and mugs, but why did he need to register for a trademark?" he said.
"This means he can't use the name to build a replica and we've asked him to step back from using it on social media." He told the BBC that the "important thing" was that Mr Smith did not have rights to the name Bluebird.
"I will protect that as long as I draw breath," he added. Mr Wales was awarded £1,026.50 in compensation. The ruling will not affect Bill's use of the Bluebird Project as the name of his private limited company.
