The well-known supercar brand Ferrari recently entered into a feud with the German fashion designer Philipp Plein. The Italian company tried to intimidate Philipp Plein and warned him of suing him for posting a photo on his Instagram account that features a pair of shoes of his brand that he placed on his personally owned Ferrari 812 Superfast.
The company got offended by his act for which it went on to threaten the designer. The company’s lawyer said – “Ferrari’s trademarks and model cars are associated in your pictures with a lifestyle totally inconsistent with Ferrari’s brand perception, in connection with performers making sexual innuendos and using Ferrari cars as props in a manner which is per se distasteful”.
The legal notice has instructed Philipp to remove all the Instagram posts that were similar to this one and also all the posts that he has uploaded on other social media platforms within 48 hours. It’s interesting to note that Philipp is not at all afraid by the company’s reaction to his post, he rather took to his Instagram account and posted:
“GOT A LOVE LETTER TODAY FROM THE LAWYERS OF FERRARI asking me to delete the picture OF MY PERSONAL CAR WITH MY PERSONAL SHOES ON IT !!!!! I can’t even put in words how disappointed and disgusted I am about this unfair and totally inappropriate claim against me personally……obviously I love cars and ESPECIALLY FERRARI !!!! I bought my first FERRARI 10 years ago and recently I bought a Ferrari for my mother as her birthday gift !!!! I think it is absolutely ridiculous as a good client to receive such a letter from a company like FERRARI !!! This message goes out to the CEO Louis Carey Camilleri of FERRARI !! If you want to continue treating your loyal clients with such letters from your lawyers you will lose the support from many FERRARI FANS !”
It will be interesting to see who wins in this legal fight, while by sending a legal notice, the Italian supercar brand has made it clear that it is strongly determined to enforce its trademark rights.
