INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS:

A court ruling on a long-running legal dispute will see German-based vehicle manufacturer Audi change the names of some its most popular vehicles.

The change to the names of Audi’s popular A-range of sedans at the direction of the International Court of Justice at The Hague is the result of litigation launched almost 30 years ago by the International Paper Manufacturers Association (IPMA).

The court today handed down its decision which means Audi will need to find new names for at least five of its popular vehicles.

The court began hearing the IPMA’s claims against Audi alleging infringement of copyright and intellectual property soon after the 1994 launch of the Audi A4, A6, and A8.

The court agreed to widen the scope of the IPMA’s claim following the 1996 launch of the Audi A3 and extended its scope again following the 2007 launch of the Audi A5.

A spokesperson for the IPMA said association members around the world had supported the legal action and were pleased with the outcome.

“It is clear that the naming of the A4 and other Audi vehicles created confusion in the market for almost 30 years and we supplied the court with numerous examples of people seeking to buy a ream of A4 paper for home or office use and returning with an upmarket sports saloon,” the spokesperson said.

An Audi company representatives said it would abide by the court’s ruling.

“Naturally we totally refute the IPMA’s claim that our system for naming our vehicles was aimed at confusing consumers or infringing copyright or intellectual property,” the representative said.

“But we nevertheless will follow the court order and start to rename our vehicles, beginning with changing the Audi A4 to the Audi Foolscap. (main picture)

“We’re working on other new names for the A3, A5, A6, and A8.”