There is only one Vespa: The Turin Court of Appeal protects the 3D trademark and confirms the exclusive right of Piaggio

The Vespa design has been known since its inception in 1946 for its creative character and artistic value as an icon of the Italian way of life. It is one of the world’s most popular brand of motorbike and consequently it has been imitated and copied by it’s  various competitors throughout the years.

The sentence laid down is the final act of a dispute originated in 2013 when, during the Milan Eicma Show, Guardia di Finanza seized 11 counterfeited scooters which replicate the design of the Vespa. In particular, the Ves model scooter, produced by a Chinese company, which is very similar to Vespa in shape, brand and even name.

The Chinese company Zhejang Zhongneng Industry Group, involved in the confiscation, filed a lawsuit against Piaggio in front of Court of Turin, requesting the cancellation of the trademark constituted by the three-dimensional shape of the scooter and the in-existence of copyright.

On April 6th  2017, Court of Turin recognized Piaggio’s right to protect the image, form and product of Vespa and the attributed value of the "three-dimensional trademark". According to the Court, this is not a form imposed by the nature of the product, nor is it necessary to achieve a technical result.

The sentence was eventually confirmed by the Court of Turin’s Court of Appeal, which rejected the requests of Zhejiang Zhongneng Industry, attributing to the icon of Italian artistic design, the qualification of object of three-dimensional trademark and work of copyright.

The revolutionary decision, in addition to protecting copyright for a design work, affirms the principle that the shape of a product can become a trademark. The characteristic figure of the Vespa, the iconic Piaggio scooter, can be protected as any brand that can be registered and cannot be copied. The distinctive shape of the unique lines of the Vespa, are a kind of three-dimensional mark and therefore not imitable.

Over the years Vespa’s style has served as inspiration for numerous models produced by competing motorcycle manufacturers. Piaggio has repeatedly found itself having to protect its design from companies around the world. In the past, in addition to Chinese companies, the Indian company LML tried to copy it and more recently, during the Eicma show in Milan, Piaggio reported a German company, upon noticing the counterfeiting nature of the products on display. We hope that the precedent established by the judges of Turin can serve as a deterrent for competing companies that keep producing miserable imitations of the Vespa.