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15 May 2015
Ida Palombella, head of Italian IP and Technology practice at the international law firm Withers has advised E.C. S.p.A., the owner of the CoSTUME NATIONAL brand, on the successful resolution of a long-running dispute with Chinese entities which have misappropriated the company's trademarks. Paola Bernardi from the China Desk of Chiomenti Studio Legale has also assisted in the case by providing her advice on certain China-related aspects.
With the assistance of Ida Palombella and Paola Bernardi, E.C. has successfully fought five cases before China's Trademark Review and Adjudication Board (TRAB) since 2013. TRAB has acknowledged the legitimacy of the company's argument and has invalidated trademarks registered by Italy CNC Dress Co. and Nuohe for the C'N'C' CoSTUME NATIONAL brand.
CoSTUME NATIONAL is one of the leading international fashion brands, mixing elegance and casual styling, launched by Ennio and Carlo Capasa in 1986. Despite the worldwide recognition of the brand, the company has been unable to register the C'N'C' CoSTUME NATIONAL brand in China, due to bad faith trademarks already granted to Chinese businesses unrelated to E.C. S.p.A.
Ida Palombella comments: "We are delighted to have been able to achieve this significant success for E.C. in China. These are ground-breaking trademark protection decisions in China. Historically, well-known trademark owners have struggled to get their intellectual property rights recognised, and have faced numerous problems from identical or similar trademarks registered by Chinese entities, who are able to prevail before the Chinese authorities despite blatant infringements".
Withers' Italian IP team was established in October 2014, when the firm hired Ida Palombella and associate Federica Caretta from Chiomenti Studio Legale. Alongside E.C. S.p.A., the practice's clients include several Italian and international fashion brands.
