Italian fashion company E.C. SpA, which controls the Costume National brand, has won five lawsuits against two different Chinese companies – Italy CNC Dress Co. Ltd. and Nuohe.
Thanks to a unique trademark law in China, the two Chinese firms were able to register the C’N’C Costume National brand in the country, preventing the Italian company from depositing the original C’N’C’ Costume National brand in that market.
Following the verdict, the Trademark Review and Adjudication Board declared invalid the brands registered by Italy CNC Dress Co. Ltd. and Nuohe.
E.C. SpA discontinued the C’N’C’ Costume National denim and sportswear brand in January 2014.
“I’m very satisfied with the result achieved by E.C. It’s a revolutionary decision for the protection of trademarks in China, where owners of established brands have always faced difficulties in having their intellectual property rights respected,” said lawyer Ida Palombella, head of Italian IP/IT practice at legal firm Withers. “Often, very famous companies had to tackle challenges caused by the registration of identical or similar brands by Chinese entities, which always prevailed over them despite the evident violations.” Cases in point: Dsquared2, which won the right to distribute its collections in China last year, and Iceberg.