Act now to save businesses and jobs

* Opportunity to change the law to stop JLR crushing UK replica manufacturers

* All enthusiasts need to act now – deadline end of August

* Replicas will still be manufactured in non-EU countries, harming UK plc

With legal threats, Jaguar Land Rover are closing down small companies that manufacture, in very limited numbers, replicas of their 1950s sports racing cars and are thus destroying businesses and jobs.

To do this, they are citing a court case they won against an elderly Swedish couple who were building their own Jaguar C-type replica, something companies and individuals have been doing worldwide since the '70s.

JLR successfully argued that the C-type was a 'work of art', rather than an aerodynamic sports racing car designed purely to win Le Mans, and that it was thus protected by law.

The Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 gave protection to artistic goods for 70 years after the creator's death. However, Section 52 of the Act reduced this to 25 years for industrially manufactured artistic goods. In 2016 this UK legislation was altered to fall in line with EU law and the 25-year protection was dropped.

Malcolm Sayer, who designed the bodies of the C-type, D-type and E-type, died in 1970. Thus previously his designs were protected until 1995 but the EU legislation extended this to 2040.

Following Brexit, the UK Government is now reviewing this legislation and considering reviving Section 52 and asking for feedback by August 31.

It is crucial that enthusiasts everywhere make their views known unless you are in favour of the Legal Team at JLR continuing to crush companies, issuing similar 'cease and desist' communications to artists depicting classic Jaguars and Land-Rovers and dictating that people need permission, and must pay a royalty, to sell photographs of their own classic car.

For more information, visit: https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/repeal-of-section-52- cdpa-and-related-amendments-call-for-views

To communicate your support for the reintroduction of Section 52 and 25-year limit, please email: webmaster@ipo.gov.uk