On Thursday 15 March, the General Court of the EU rejected (Case T-1/17) the appeal brought by the Spanish company La Mafia Franchises against the decision of the European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO) that its mark for its themed restaurants La mafia se sienta a la mesa (the Mafia takes a seat at the table), featuring a red rose in the logo, was invalid.
The General Court agreed with EUIPO, with which Italy had filed an application to have the mark invalidated, that it ran counter to public order, as the combination of the term “the Mafia” with the expression “se sienta a la mesa” and the red rose featured in the logo “refers to a criminal organisation, conveys a globally positive image of that organisation and trivialises the serious harm done by that organisation to the fundamental values of the EU”.
In particular, the judges found that the mark was likely to shock or offend not only the victims of the Mafia, but also “any person who, on EU territory, encounters that mark and has average sensitivity and tolerance thresholds”.
In its defence, La Mafia Franchises asserted that it was not its intention to shock or offend, but simply to allude to the Godfather film series in its themed restaurants. (Original version in French by Francesco Gariazzo)