The long court battle over trademark issues between the Gucci and Guess brands concluded in France on January 20 in Guess’ favour. The Court of Paris rejected every claim stated by Gucci in a comprehensive 44-page ruling and found no trademark infringement, no counterfeiting and no unfair competition.
The Court also denied Gucci’s request for €55 million in damages and instead, ordered Gucci to pay Guess €33,000. The court also invalidated three of Gucci’s “G” trademarks, which means that the luxury brand cannot claim exclusive use to those marks any longer.
According to Guess Co-Founder and CEO Paul Marciano, “For six years now, Gucci has filed case after case against GUESS and lost time after time. On top of that, Gucci has lost some trademarks in the Italian case and now some in France as well. I continue to believe strongly that all these legal battles are a complete waste of time and this energy and money should be focused on business. Obviously, FH Pinault doesn’t see it that way.” CJ
