Ferrari has just won a historic legal battle, regaining the rights to the name “Testarossa”, one of its most iconic brands. This ends a decade-long controversy with a German toy manufacturer, Kurt Hesse.
Ferrari wins historic legal battle over the Testarossa name
According to Hesse, Ferrari hadn’t used the Testarossa name for several years, so it no longer held any legal rights. However, things went differently in court. The history of the Testarossa name as an actual trademark begins in 1987, the year it was registered in Maranello for exclusive use. In 2006, the Prancing Horse renewed the registration, using the name for toys and various merchandise. In 2015, however, Hesse managed to obtain revocation of the trademark by the European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO) because Ferrari had not produced new Testarossas since 1996.
Ferrari then appealed and now, after a full 10 years of legal battles, has finally succeeded in securing a favorable decision from the General Court of the European Union. Ferrari claimed continuous use of the Testarossa trademark through the sale of original spare parts, production of official replicas (and possible future EVs), officially licensed products, toys, certificates of authenticity, and used models through official dealers.
The General Court ruled in favor of Ferrari, creating a very important precedent related to the genuine use of a specific trademark, with ownership that can extend beyond the production and sale of new products. This ruling offers greater security to other companies with classic models and historic names as well.
