Car designer seeks unpaid royalties

Bruce Turnbull reckons he is owed nearly $100,000. Photo / Gary Rodgers

A Kiwi racecar designer says he is owed nearly $100,000 in royalties by the European franchise holders.

Bruce Turnbull designed and built the first Saker sports cars back in the late 1980s. The cars are now raced in competitions across the Netherlands and Britain.

But Turnbull says he has not received any royalties since new owners took over the business several years ago.

The millionaire Dutch owners have also removed any reference to Turnbull in promotional material.

The former champion racecar driver says he can't afford to pursue an intellectual property lawsuit through the courts.

"What I'm asking is a very small amount. Originally that was to be income to ensure that I could keep up with development. To ensure I could keep up to the changes in design and technology."

Saker Europe owner Laurens Meyer has said that the business is unprofitable and he has lost millions of euros trying to save the car.

Intellectual property lawyers have warned that cases of disputed intellectual property are becoming increasingly common.