Trade Marks and Passing Off: Hotel Cipriani SRL and Others v Cipriani (Grosvenor Street) Ltd & Ors [2008] EWHC 3032 (Ch) (9 Dec 2008)
When I worked for VISA in 1984 I believe I had lunch at the Hotel Cipriani in Venice. I can't remember a vast amount about it other than that one had to take a boat trip. The food was OK though it can't have been all that outstanding because I can't remember what I ate. By contrast, I can remember every morsel of a meal at The Auberge de l'Il in Alsace. Having said that I have always been a bit down on Venice ( Sorry Jan Morris ) for various reasons. Not least the proclivity of the local dustmen to clatter their bins at about 3 AM and carry on a conversation at the top of their voices every day without fail when I had to get up early to do a day's work. Anyway the owners of the Hotel Cipriani have just won an action against the owners of the Cipriani London for trade mark infringement and passing off ( Hotel Cipriani SRL and Others v Cipriani (Grosvenor Street) Ltd and Other s [2008] EWHC 3032 (Ch) (9 Dec 2008). Not the least remarkable feature of this case is ...