The Italian supercar manufacturer Ferrari has lost the trademark rights to the world’s highest car and possibly the highest iconic car in its history, the 1962 Ferrari 250 GTO.
Although the Ferrari 250 GTO charges only $18,000 in the U.S. When new, one of them set a new record for the world’s most expensive car in 2018 when it was sold privately for $70 million.
Ferrari lost its logo in the form of the 250 GTO by failing to comply with the regulations of the European Union Intellectual Protection Office (EUIPO) “Use it or lose it”
The rule, which Ferrari himself used in litigation as opposed to other corporations and even charities, targeted Ferrari’s trail in retaliation for bodybuilder Ares Design.
Ares Design was founded in Modena, just 20 km from Ferrari’s hometown of Maranello, and was founded through former Lotus CEO and Ferrari director Dany Bahar.
Ares Design announced in 2018 that it plans a limited series of “reinterpretation” of 250 GTO, approximately 1 million euros each.
“It’s a fashion reinterpretation, a copy,” Bahar insisted.
It’s not the only Ferrari reinterpretation from Ares Design, either, with the company paying homage to the relatively unloved 412 as well.
Ferrari was offended by this and transported Ares to a Bolognese cut, where the 250 GTO considered art paintings irreplaceable and Ares sent the packaging.
However, long before that, Ferrari attempted its logo through a 2008 EUIPO application in the form of the 250 GTO, even though it had not been used in a production car since 1964.
Ares retaliated after his failure in Bologna and questioned EUIPO’s coverage under regulations stipulating that a trademark that has been used for five years may be cancelled.
Naturally, Ferrari took out all its legal barrels at startup, but recoiled so firmly that it now has the trademark of the 250 GTO shape for only toys and style cars.
This is the first setback for Ferrari, which has lost the right to use its so-called Testarossa to a German toy manufacturer in a 2017 court case.
Only 36 of the 250 GTO with V12 engine were built as a special certification to compete in the FIA Group 3 passenger car category, with 33 cars with the previous vintage frame and 3 dresses with another Series II frame. He ruled his racing status for 3 years.
Ferrari was an enthusiastic litigator and has been sufficiently aware of the “use or lose” law. His own lawyers used the same clause in the same courtroom to combat the so-called Purosangue (pure blood, literally, but “pure blood” more widely) of the small purse charity of the Purosangue Foundation in Italy.
The Purosangue Foundation had, in fact, used the brand, especially through a clothing deal with sportswear giant Adidas.
Ferrari protected its logo by chasing everyone from music maker Deadmau5 to fashion designer Philipp Plein, any of whom was an unwavering Ferrari customer. He also threatened construction company and broker Scuderia Cameron Glickenhaus with a dispute over his P 4/5 C, never followed through a trademark lawsuit.
I’ve been testing cars and writing about the auto industry for over 25 years. My career began in the newspapers and became the writing of two
I’ve been testing cars and writing about the auto industry for over 25 years. My career began in the newspapers and evolved in the writing of two automotive magazines. I founded myself in Italy as a freelancer for more than a decade, covering the European automotive sector, with a focus on product testing and product progression for readers around the world. I judge the smart and badness of cars about how they carry out their intended purposes at their cost to their target consumers compared to all their competitors. I don’t have short or long positions in the automotive industry, basically because this would only compromise the integrity of my work, so my written positions are a condensation of having knowledge combined with about 4 complete product cycles of value.