Italian fashion house Gianni Versace SpA has won its civil case against Israeli company Versace 83 Ltd., owned by Benayahu Zadik-Pur. In a precedent-setting ruling, the Israeli Trademark Registrar ordered Versace 83 to remove all its five registered trademarks in Hebrew and English that it has held since 1989.
Intellectual Property Adjudicator Noah Shalev Shlomovitz ruled that Versace 83 had not registered the trademarks in good faith, but sought to imitate the Italian fashion brand. He ruled that Versace 83 "was riding on the reputation of Gianni Versace and confusing the public as the source of the goods Versace 83 was selling."
The ruling means that the Zadik-Pur brothers must immediately desist using the Versace name, otherwise they will be in violation of the Italian trademark. The Tel Aviv District Court must now rule on the permanent injunction and on the financial damages that Versace 83 caused Gianni Versace.
This is the first time that Clause 89 (A) (1) of the Commercial Trademark Ordinance has been invoked. The clause allows for the cancellation of a trademark, even if it is more than five years old, if it was registered in bad faith.
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on July 3, 2008
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