A Spanish restaurant chain referred to as The Mafia Sits at the Table could quickly have to vary its name after the nation’s patent and trademark workplace heeded objections from the Italian authorities and dominated that the model’s nomenclature ran counter to “both public order and morality”.
Italy has pursued its claim in opposition to the chain – identified in Spanish as La Mafia se sienta a la mesa – by numerous courts and official our bodies over the previous few years, alleging that the name trivialises both organised crime and efforts to fight it.
In 2018, the EU Intellectual Property Office dominated that the name was invalid because it conveyed a “globally positive image” of the mafia. It added that the model was “therefore likely to shock or offend not only the victims of that criminal organisation and their families, but also any person who, on EU territory, encounters that mark and has average sensitivity and tolerance thresholds”.
Eight years later, the Spanish Patent and Trademark Office has additionally dominated in favour of Italy and declared the name of the chain to be invalid.
The chain, which might enchantment the choice, had argued that it had taken its name from a recipe e-book fairly than the legal organisation, and that the phrase “mafia” was not solely related to criminal activity. The ruling famous that the firm had mentioned that “the term mafia is indeed used in other industries such as audiovisual or literary, and the Spanish public identifies this term as an allusion to a cultural phenomenon, rather than a criminal organisation.”
But it additionally identified that Italy had defined that the phrase utilized to a world legal organisation that additionally operated in Spain: “As [Italy] notes, the most common crimes of said organisation are, among other things, the smuggling of drugs and weapons, organised crime, piracy, money laundering, corruption of public officials and murders.”
Ruling in favour of Italy’s utility, the workplace mentioned: “The controversial name runs counter to both public order and morality. The main name directly reproduces the name of a real criminal organisation, whose activity is not a remote or merely literary phenomenon, but a persistent reality.”
The chain described the ruling as “unprecedented in Spain” and mentioned it was contemplating an enchantment. It additionally mentioned it had efficiently renewed its trademark with the workplace a number of occasions over the previous twenty years, and had tried to debate the case straight with Italy’s ambassador to Spain.
“Over the years, we have tried on numerous occasions to explain the origin and meaning of our name, but we haven’t had a real opportunity to do so,” mentioned firm sources. “As has always been the case, we are uninvolved and distance ourselves from any negative connotations attributed to us by the Spanish Patent and Trademark Office and the Italian embassy. Our focus is on continuing to build the company’s future, and we remain true to the essence of the project: a high-quality Italian-Mediterranean culinary offering and a distinctive dining experience.”
