GUESS Wins Critical Case Against Gucci in a French 3-Judge Panel Decision

The latest chapter of the trademark challenge by Gucci against GUESS (NYSE: GES) concluded in  France  on  January 30, 2015  with a complete victory for GUESS. In a comprehensive 44-page ruling, the highly-respected  Court of Paris  rejected every claim asserted by Gucci, finding no trademark infringement, no counterfeiting, and no unfair competition.

The Court also completely denied Gucci’s request for €55 million in damages and, instead, Gucci was ordered by the court to pay GUESS  30,000 Euros .

Of critical importance, the Court invalidated three of Gucci’s “G” community and international trademarks, meaning Gucci cannot claim exclusive use to those marks any longer.

The Court of Paris’ decision builds upon substantial momentum GUESS has generated in similar lawsuits where courts across the globe have rejected Gucci’s claims that GUESS had infringed Gucci’s marks.

GUESS Co-Founder and CEO  Paul Marciano  said, “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.”

Source: http://investors.guess.com/phoenix.zhtml?c=92506&p=irol-newsArticle&ID=2012695