26 July 2023
CANTÙ, COMO ITALY
Molteni Vernici, a leader in the field of high-quality paints and design, is proud to announce that it has achieved a significant victory in the Venice Court, Specialized Sections in Enterprise Matters, in a civil lawsuit against De Castelli. The court's decision sets an important precedent on trademark protection, unfair competition and parasitic activities.
De Castelli had accused Molteni Vernici of infringing its intellectual property rights on the national "Delabrè" trademark through the Delabrè effect products, known for their uniqueness and refinement, and had disputed the illicit acts of counterfeiting, unfair competition and parasitic. De Castelli argued that the success of the Delabrè products by Molteni Vernici was dictated by an illicit hitch to the wake of De Castelli's notoriety. Molteni Vernici, unable to accept such accusations, immediately activated its lawyers, Lawyers Marta Barberi and Francesco Barberi, demonstrating that their products did not infringe any rights on the Delabrè sign and that no act of confusing unfair competition had been put in place. Having examined the acts, and deciding on the merits in the first instance with a judgment published on July 26, 2023, the Venice Court rejected De Castelli's accusations recognizing instead that Molteni Vernici did not commit counterfeiting of the national de facto "Delabrè" trademark nor carried out unfair or parasitic competition to the detriment of De Castelli.
More precisely, the Venice Court has inter alia ruled as follows: "it ascertains and declares that the use by the plaintiff of the word "Delabrè" does not constitute counterfeiting of the de facto "Delabré" trademark of the defendant and does not constitute an act of unfair competition; it ascertains and declares that the use by the plaintiff of the newsletter does not constitute an act of parasitic competition (…)"
"Today's decision not only strengthens our leadership position in the sector, but also confirms the value of our ongoing efforts to protect our brands and our identity," said the CEO of Molteni Vernici. "This verdict is a victory not only for our company but also for our customers, who can continue to rely on the quality and authenticity of our products and our Brand."
Molteni Vernici's victory sends an important message to all companies in the design sector: the protection of intellectual property is essential to guarantee innovation and high quality of products offered to customers. It is now more evident than ever that the Molteni Vernici brand is a brand of great quality that lives on its own light and not on reflected light and that uniquely protects its history, its identity, its know-how, its creativity, and its products."
