Lamborghini Trademark Infringement Lawsuit

The Italian car maker Lamborghini wasted little time in filing a lawsuit (US District Court, State of Nevada, Case No. 2:11-cv-01154-ECR –RJJ) against the Palazzo resort in Las Vegas. The Palazzo recently opened an exotic car showroom, an Italian restaurant, and a merchandise gallery called Dal Toro. The Dal Toro logo bears an all-too-similar resemblance to Lamborghini’s classic raging bull logo. According to the Las Vegas Sun, the suit claims that the logos are “studied imitations of the Lamborghini trademarks.”

The owner of these businesses, Lorenzo Barracco, seemed unconcerned with the trademark infringement suit, and called it frivolous. But the fact that the logo represents businesses that are upscale and clearly Italian car-themed doesn’t help. Given that the logo’s color scheme, overall design and Italian name are all similar to Lamborghini, the coincidence is a little far-fetched.

The suit continues:
“Defendants’ advertisement, promotion and sale of the knockoff products is part

of a sophisticated and elaborate scheme to target Lamborghini, to create products that are similar in appearance to well-known Lamborghini products, and to trade upon the goodwill and reputation associated with Lamborghini and its high quality, distinctive product lines, including by deliberately misleading the public and the trade as to the authenticity, source, affiliation or sponsorship of defendants’ operations and products.”