The case began in 2017 when a German court invalidated the trademark for Testarossa, owned by an Italian company, due to the fact that Ferrari had not used the trademark for a long time (more than 5 years), and the last cars bearing that designation were produced in the 1990s. Furthermore, the court ruled that the sale of parts for this model between 2011 and 2017 did not constitute actual use of the trademark.
The sports car manufacturer did not accept this ruling, and as a result, appealed the decision to a higher court, and the case was ultimately referred to the Court of Justice of the European Union. Ferrari’s main argument concerned the continued production and sale of mechanical parts bearing the disputed trademark.
Upon reviewing the case, the Tribunal agreed with the Italian company’s position and ruled that the production and sale of car parts for a total of 17,000 Euros between 2011 and 2017 constituted actual use of the trademark, as this did not involve mere resale of products, which could not be considered actual use. Therefore, the use of the trademark in the context of mechanical parts bearing the protected mark for the Ferrari Testarossa car model, even in small quantities, guarantees the identity of the origin of the goods for which the trademark was registered.
As a result, the Court of Justice of the European Union overturned the ruling of the German court, thereby giving Ferrari the green light to continue using the trademark.
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