Guess wins trademark dispute against Gucci

By

Dominique Muret

Published
May 6, 2013

After four years, the trademark dispute between Guess and Gucci has finally concluded. On May 2, the Court of Milan rejected all claims made by the Kering-owned label against the American jeans brand.

According to a press release from Guess, "the Italian Court has ordered the cancellation of certain of Gucci’s diamond pattern, G logo, and “Flora” pattern trademarks. The cancelled registrations included 3 Italian trademarks and 4 trademarks covering the European Community. The Court has also rejected Gucci's rights in a "Square G" logo.”

Gucci opened legal fire on Guess in 2009, claiming that their choice of colours and themes were an attempt to confuse customers and that their Quattro G logo pattern was too similar to Gucci’s interlocking double G pattern. The company filed suit in New York and Milan and subsequent actions were filed in Paris and Nanjing, China, according to the press release.

In 2012, Gucci took the U.S. firm to court in New York. Guess were forced to pay damages to Gucci though but charges were minimal and injunctions were narrow.

“The Milan verdict is an important decision and judgment, not only because it has been issued in Italy, the birthplace of the Gucci brand, but also because the Court agreed with GUESS in practically all its principal arguments,” said the brand in the press release.

“The tactics of Gucci are nothing less than bullying. Because of their endless resources, Gucci has been forum shopping all over the world to try and stop Guess from expanding its successful accessories business. It’s fundamentally wrong and unconscionable. There are global trends that Gucci itself follows as anyone does in fashion; they are no different from Guess in that regard,” said CEO and artisitic director of Guess, Paul Marciano. “In my opinion, the 3 year battle in New York and 4 years in Milan was a result of massive and unnecessary litigation that should have been easily resolved with a simple phone call, which Gucci never made.”