THE CASE OF THE DA MICHELE PIZZERIA TRADEMARK

Recently, the Commercial Division of the Court of Naples heard a case involving the heirs of Michele Condurro, founder of Pizzeria da Michele, who claimed rights to the trademark of the same name.

 Michele Condurro founded the pizzeria that bears his name in the popular Forcella neighborhood way back in 1870, and over the years his pizza has become so famous that it was even mentioned by Julia Roberts in the movie *Eat Pray Love*.

 Recently, Michele Condurro’s heirs have been in dispute over the right to use the “Da Michele” trademark, which has become the subject of a dispute with a branch of the family claiming the right to use it for the opening of several branches in Italy and abroad.

 Similar cases have occurred involving pizza maker Gino Sorbillo, and the same is happening with the SaldeRiso brand, where award-winning pastry chef Salvatore de Riso is in a legal dispute with his brother.

 So, after the company and the domain names were registered, a lawsuit was filed in 2016 to secure recognition of and exclusive use of the name “Da Michele.”

 The Court ultimately ruled that the exclusive right to use the name throughout Italy and internationally belongs to the Condurro heirs who operate the Da Michele pizzeria based in Forcella, and ordered the removal of signage, domain names, and social media accounts. The ruling ultimately recognized that the name serves a specific function of individualization, which has been reinforced over time through the maintenance of high quality standards, resulting in a strong brand, and that the rights to use that brand belong to those who first adopted and used it.