The European Court of Justice agrees with Piaggio: the "Vespa" trademark is recognizable throughout the Union and evidence shows that it has acquired distinctiveness at the European level. The judges thus granted the Italian company's request to annul the EU Intellectual Property Office's (Euipo) 2021 decision that had annulled, at the intervention of the Chinese group Zhejiang Zhongneng Industry, the Pontedera-based manufacturer's registration of the trademark. According to the European Court, however, an EU trademark cannot be declared invalid if it has acquired distinctiveness. Piaggio had submitted several pieces of evidence to Euipo, including the presence of the "Vespa" at the Museum of Modern Art in New York, the use of the well-known scooter in world-famous films such as "Roman Holiday", and the presence of the Vespa in several member states.
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