Chinese exhibitors who had registered a design similar to the Vespa scooter were removed by the authorities of the Fiera exhibition centre after a complaint was lodged by Piaggio Group. The Chinese production scooter was showcased at the EICMA 2019 two-wheeler show in Milan and design-wise was similar to the Piaggio Vespa, which is an iconic design trademarked by the Italian company.
The design of the Piaggio Group’s Vespa scooter has been registered and protected by the three-dimensional trademark and by a copyright that safeguards the artistic value of the shape of the Vespa scooter which has been a style icon since 1946. The ‘Vespa Primavera’ is registered in 2013 and protected by the Piaggio Group.
The design registered by the ‘Chinese Party’ has been declared invalid by the invalidity division of the European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO). The EUIPO invalidity division has also revoked their registration since the Chinese brand has been unable to derive a different impression of the design used which was similar to the Piaggio Vespa Primavera. EUIPO also denoted that the design was an unlawful attempt to reproduce the design aesthetics of the Vespa scooter.
In a fight against counterfeiting, the Piaggio Group have been, for years, monitoring the databases of internationally registered designs and trademarks which has led to the cancellation of more than 50 trademarks registered by third parties in the last two years. The invalidity proceedings are a part of this activity.
In other news, closer to home, Piaggio has launched the BS6 Vespa VXL and the Vespa SXL in India at the price of INR 1,22,664 and INR 1,26,650 ex-showroom, Delhi, respectively. The new BS6 Vespa called the VXL 149 and SXL 149 and replace the BS4 compliant VXL 150 and SXL 150 with a new fuel-injected 149cc BS6 emission compliant engine.
Both the VXL 149 and SXL 149 is powered by the same BS6 compliant 149cc single-cylinder, 3-valve with an aluminium cylinder head and roller rocker arm equipped overhead cam along with Fuel Injection, variable spark timing management, map sensor and 3 catalytic converters. The engine produces 10.4 Bhp of power and 10.6 Nm of torque matched to a continuously variable transmission.
