Is an Icon Too Artistic to Trademark? Italian Court Ruling on Vespa Design Raises IP Protection Debate

But it appears that the Supreme Court’s decision overlooks a pertinent factor: the underlying reasons for the public’s admiration of a specific design. Using the Vespa as an illustration, it is asserted that the scooter’s appeal arises not solely from its physical form but rather from decades of deliberate actions by its proprietors to establish it as a symbol of Italian design, embodying a distinct lifestyle and cultural significance on a global scale. The primary contention here is that the inherent worth of the Vespa’s design itself is not definitive; rather, it is the consistent efforts of its owners over an extended duration to imbue the shape with cultural and symbolic significance that hold sway.