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Italian court rules against Dolce&Gabbana in a case concerning unauthorized use of Maradona’s name on a jersey

2019; Oxford University Press; Volume: 15; Issue: 3 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1093/jiplp/jpz176

1747-1540

Eleonora Rosati,

Intellectual Property Law

Milan Court of First Instance, Case 41088/2017, decision 11374/2019, 9 December 2019 In a decision issued in late 2019, the Milan Court of First Instance has ruled that the unauthorized use, by fashion house Dolce&Gabbana, of former footballer Diego Armando Maradona’s name on a jersey infringed his image rights. In 2017, Maradona brought legal proceedings against Dolce&Gabbana in relation to the unauthorized use, by the latter, of his name on a jersey worn by a model during a fashion show held in Naples in 2009. The jersey, which was sold neither before nor after the show, carried the number ‘10’, ie the same number used by Maradona while at Napoli football club. It also displayed the same colour combination as Napoli jerseys. Images of the jersey appeared on general interest media and also on the Dolce&Gabbana website. Maradona claimed damages for EUR 1 million due to the unauthorized commercial exploitation of his name. He submitted that Dolce&Gabbana’s use of his name had allowed them to take an unfair advantage of his repute and also likely misled the public into believing that there would be a commercial association between himself and the defendants.