Today in De Telegraaf: The end of the war for Luv's name

Today's edition of Dutch most popular newspaper "De Telegraaf" features an article about Luv' in its "Privé" section.

Legendary producer Hans van Hemert (who created Luv' forty years ago) has lost the war against Marga Scheide. He is furious at the blonde singer of the trio after she trademarked the group's name in late 1989. He is not able to continue his fight to get the copyright on Luv' back because of his lack of money.

"I've lost all my millions," Hans says. "It took a long time to find a moment to talk about this touchy issue. Two years ago I went to Marga's house in Naarden and I tried to explain in a very friendly way that I was the only one who had the right to own Luv's name. But Marga didn't agree. She said I should have been happy that she copyrighted the name of the trio. Otherwise someone else would have use it. We discussed about it for hours. We planned another meeting in a café. Marga didn't come and instead she sent Luv's manager Walter van der Schaff. Now I give up the fight. I have nothing to do with Luv' anymore. My finances are too limited and I can't afford a long lawsuit," he adds.

Hans declares he is not rich anymore. "The only reason why I keep my head above water is that I wrote so many hits. I still earn money with my back catalogue but I didn't do it in the most efficient way. For example Harry van Hoof and me are credited as the songwriters of "How do you do" by Mouth & MacNeal. Actually Harry didn't contribute to the songwriting but at the time we decided to put our two names on the songs. I wrote all the hits of Luv' whereas I share them with Piet Souer," the Maestro explains.

In the 1980s, Hans was facing tax evasion problems and he tells he was misled by his lawyer. That's why he lost a huge part of his fortune.

Nowadays he possesses a house in the South of France and another one in Indonesia. He stills produces music in his studio and runs his own production company. 

In the meantime, the Luv' ladies perform successfully. There have been plans about a Luv' musical. "Because I don't own Luv's name, there is nothing I can do," he says. A composer and a theatre director wanted to make a musical about my whole career and a producer wanted to film the story of Luv'. So many things happened at the time. It's a wonderful story. Imagine that these projects see the light of day and that Miss Scheide takes advantage of them. I don't want it. 

According to the trademark office, Marga registered Luv's name for soaps, perfumes and cosmetics. The registration is valid until November 27th, 2019. 

Source: De Telegraaf