Mario Valentino Vs Valentino, the legal dispute picks up and takes over Farfetch. The E-tailer, specialized in the online sale of luxury items, allegedly sold footwear and handbag under the “Valentino” brand, while it should have been “Valentino Garavani”.
Farfetch should have done so on the basis of an agreement signed by the two companies in 1979 and, today, object of a long legal dispute. And so, Farfetch was accused of counterfeiting. Milan’s court named Mario Valentino the victor, and declared that the e-tailer (and its subsidiary Modes) “are no longer to sell Mario Valentino’s products as branded Valentino and Red Valentino”.
The legal dispute picks up and takes over Farfetch
Summarized: Mario Valentino bought one of the Valentino-branded handbags on Farfetch and accused the platform of counterfeiting its own brand, because the correct naming for the products should have been Valentino Garavani, and not Valentino.
According to the writings of the court, the Naples-based brand accused the platforms and its subsidiary Modes of many crimes. Farfetch UK Ltd, meanwhile, defended itself by claiming that the platform only hosts the offers and makes its technology and logistics available to the public.
The thesis was not accepted by the court. Farfecth states to have received, in February 2020, an injunction from Mario Valentino, and that in June of 2020 it had included specific names to be used for products of the brand Valentino Garavani, so that they would have the correct tags.
The sentence on February 6th
Judge Claudio Marangoni of the Milan Court partially gave reason, on February 6th, to the demands of the accuser, which was assisted by Pier Luigi Roncaglia, Francesco Rossi and Riccardo Perotti, partner of Spheriens.
Simply put, it agreed to the heaviest of accusations (the one tied to counterfeiting) and limited Farfetch of the use od Valentino and Red Valentino brands for footwear, handbags and other leather goods that aren’t manufactured by Mario Valentino.
Additionally, the judge decided that Farfetch is to pay a 500 euro fine for each product offered, or advertised, in a way that violates such limitation, beside from condemning Farfetch to also cover all legal fees incurred.
Images taken from mariovalentino.it (on the left) and from Shutterstock (on the right)
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