Fashion & Luxury
Fashion is one of the leading sectors of the Italian and European economy, and LGV Avvocati has long been committed to protecting intangible assets in the fashion industry. The firm has worked, and continues to work, with fashion houses, textile industry operators supplying luxury brands, streetwear manufacturers, internationally renowned fashion bloggers, as well as well-known manufacturers of leisure footwear and sneakers, eyewear producers and manufacturers of accessories of every kind. In this sector, the firm’s work ranges from the registration of trademarks and designs and the management of portfolios of registered rights, to civil enforcement — through anti-counterfeiting campaigns and interventions at customs and at trade fairs — and criminal enforcement, obtaining preventive seizures and numerous convictions of counterfeiters, both Italian and foreign. Protecting fashion assets also involves actions against unfair competition by slavish imitation and, where iconic products are concerned, securing their protection through recognition of copyright as works of applied art. The firm’s assistance also extends to advisory work, including the preventive review and clearance of advertising campaigns (including from the standpoint of ambush marketing regulations), and the drafting and review of licensing and distribution agreements and of any other form of contract or negotiation relating to the acquisition, exploitation and disposal of intellectual property rights in the fashion sector. For a number of companies in this sector, LGV Avvocati has also handled the incorporation of companies for the distribution of clothing, as well as acquisitions and the opening of flagship stores.
Significant experience
- LGV Avvocati assists a leading European footwear manufacturer, both in connection with an anti-counterfeiting campaign aimed at protecting the value of the trademarks and designs involved, and in complex, wide-ranging litigation aimed at establishing the protectability of an iconic sign featured on the sole of its footwear. Interventions at trade fairs, carried out with the assistance of private investigators, are intensive and ongoing, enabling the client to target significant infringers in the fight against counterfeiting. The results achieved by LGV Avvocati for this client can be described as exceptional, to the point that Italy has become the client’s jurisdiction of reference for the protection of its IP assets. For the same client, LGV Avvocati succeeded in obtaining the registration of trademarks consisting of place names, securing a significant decision from the UIBM Board of Appeal (the appellate body of the Italian Patent and Trademark Office) that overturned the Office’s original refusal to register.
- The firm assists a major online marketplace operator, also active on the Italian market. Among other matters, LGV Avvocati handled what was the first case of its kind involving the application of ambush marketing legislation, assisting the client both before the Italian Competition Authority (AGCM) and in the two levels of judicial review before the Regional Administrative Court (TAR) and the Supreme Administrative Court.
- The firm assists a leading and highly renowned Italian haute couture house, which holds one of the country’s largest archives of iconic garments — of such significance that it has been placed under the protection of the Ministry of Cultural Heritage. For this fashion house, LGV Avvocati manages the entire trademark and design portfolio worldwide. The firm has also conducted complex litigation on the client’s behalf against former licensees who exceeded the scope of the license originally granted. In addition, LGV Avvocati has handled commercial transactions and the negotiation of licensing agreements for the same client.
- We assist a prestigious operator in the silk-screen printing sector, a leading company in its field and heir to the great Italian tradition of textile printing, in particular on silk. For this client, the firm has successfully handled sophisticated litigation concerning the use of graphics and designs over which third parties claimed copyright. For the same client, LGV Avvocati handled the negotiation and acquisition of an important archive of drawings and works by one of the foremost designers of the last century, a pioneer of the so-called “total look”, together with the acquisition of the related trademarks and the establishment of a foundation dedicated to the preservation and exploitation of this heritage of Italian design.
- The firm manages, on a worldwide basis, the trademark portfolio of a very well-known Italian influencer, who is also highly active in the fashion industry at every level. For this client, LGV Avvocati also manages or co-manages a significant number of disputes with former licensees of the trademarks belonging to the influencer in question.