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Ferrari 250 GTO, no trademark rights!

Ferrari 250 GTO, no trademark rights!

Ferrari is a brand known worldwide, not only to car enthusiasts. It is primarily famous for its elegant yet sporty cars, characterized by timeless designs. Undoubtedly, a pioneer and a classic in the Italian brand's portfolio is the Ferrari 250 GTO, whose production began in the 1960s. To illustrate how iconic this model is, it's worth noting that in 2018, it was sold at a private auction for tens of millions of dollars. Why are we mentioning this particular model? Well, Ferrari has just lost its trademark protection for the design of the 250 GTO.

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Replica with extra charge

It all started in 2018 when the Italian company Ares Design announced that it planned to start producing and selling a car whose design would be reminiscent of the Ferrari 250 GTO. What was supposed to distinguish the new model from the original was, among other things, the price – one million dollars compared to the tens of thousands for the original model from the 1960s. Ferrari didn’t have to wait long to react. In 2019, the Italian car company filed a lawsuit in Bologna, arguing that Ares Design was planning to produce replicas of the famous Ferrari model, for which it had no rights. The justification included the fact that the world-famous model should be protected, just like works of art. In the initial stages of the dispute, the Italian court agreed with this argument and ruled in favor of Ferrari.

This, in turn, did not please Ares Design, which retaliated by filing a request to invalidate the disputed trademark, to which Ferrari holds the rights. As a result, the dispute ended up at the European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO).

Use or discard

The application argued that the Italian automotive giant had not used the trademark in question for 5 years, and furthermore, the renewal of the trademark by Ferrari in 2008 was done in bad faith. The applicant emphasized that the 250 GTO trademark was not used in any new model of the Italian car manufacturer, and therefore the “use it or lose it” principle should apply. This principle stems from Article 19(1) of Directive 2015/2436 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 16 December 2015 and concerns the aforementioned non-use of a given trademark for a period of 5 years, which in such a case should not be subject to protection.

As a result, EUIPO ruled in favor of Ares Design regarding the invalidation of the trademark in question in the context of its use for the manufactured cars. Interestingly, the 250 GTO trademark for Ferrari still applies to various types of toys, including models of the famous car.

Will this decision lead to cars appearing on the market that are built in the style of the famous Ferrari 250 GTO model? We will find out in the near future, and certainly thanks to Ares Design.

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The principle of “use it or lose it” should apply. This principle stems from Article 19(1) of Directive 2015/2436 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 16 December 2015 and concerns the aforementioned non-use of a given trademark for a period of 5 years, which in such a case should not be subject to protection.

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