Campbell family win Bluebird trademark battle

The restored Bluebird is now on display at Coniston's Ruskin Museum after a long-running ownership row

The family of Donald Campbell have won a battle to block Bluebird's restorer registering a trademark featuring the craft's name.

Bill Smith, who helped recover and rebuild the hydroplane's wreckage from Coniston Water in the Lake District, had applied to register the name of his Bluebird Project (BBP) group.

The bid was opposed by Mr Campbell's nephew, Donald Wales, over fears the family's existing trademark could be damaged through any association with the Tyneside engineer, who was involved in a legal row over the craft's ownership.

A ruling by the government's Intellectual Property Office found Mr Smith had applied in "bad faith", but he described the findings as "inconsequential".

Mr Campbell was killed in January 1967 as he tried to push his water-speed record past 300mph (480km/h) in the Lake District.

Bluebird's wreckage was recovered in 2001, with the Campbell Family Heritage Trust granting ownership to Coniston's Ruskin Museum in 2006 and Mr Smith enlisted to lead the restoration.

'Questionable behaviour'

A long-running row followed, with Mr Smith claiming he was entitled to part-ownership as a result of the repair work he and his group had undertaken.

He relinquished his claim in January this year, with Bluebird handed over three months later.

As part of that settlement, Mr Smith paid £25,000 towards the museum's legal costs.

Mr Wales alleged the attempt to secure a trademark, which was submitted in October 2021, involved "questionable behaviour and sharp practice" given it rested on Mr Smith's ownership stance, which was "disputed" by both the Ruskin Museum and the Campbell family.

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? It was a nonsense," Mr Wales said.

"He knows the family name is of historical importance to record-breaking yet he accuses me of trading off it. 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."

Mr Wales said 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.

Bill Smith (centre) had wanted to trademark the Bluebird Project name and logo, which he uses on merchandise such as hats and hoodies

In his application, Mr Smith said: "The bald fact of the matter is that it is [Mr Wales] who is riding the coat tails of BBP and exploiting the fruits of our hard work and not the other way around."

He told the BBC he was not bothered by the ruling, saying it was "so inconsequential I've only skim-read it".

Asked whether he was disappointed the body found he had acted in bad faith, he added: "I don't know where that part [of the decision] came from. He won the day. Big deal.

"The application was just to tie up a loose end. We do other stuff, such as helping with the electric wheelchair speed record and Stay Gold speed project, and have long since transcended the Bluebird restoration.

"We'll still be doing all the things we were before."

Mr Wales was awarded £1,026.50 towards his costs, which it is understood Mr Smith must settle by 26 September.

The ruling will not affect Mr Smith's use of the Bluebird Project as the name of his private limited company.

Clarification note 26 September: This article was amended on 25 September to make clear the £1,026.50 awarded to Mr Wales was for legal costs rather than compensation.