Hotel Cipriani SRL and Cipriani (Grosvenor Street) Ltd

LONDON, December 12, 2008 /PRNewswire-FirstCall via COMTEX/ -- Hotel Cipriani, the world famous hotel in Venice which is part of Orient-Express Hotels Ltd (OEH:6.59, -0.61, -8.5%) (http://www.orient-express.com), has been successful in an action before His Honour Mr Justice Arnold in the High Court in London for trade mark infringement and passing off in respect of the mark 'Cipriani' for restaurant services, against the operators of the restaurant Cipriani London.
Hotel Cipriani is the proprietor of Community Trade Mark 115824, filed in April 1996, for the mark 'Cipriani' used, among other things, in connection with hotels and restaurants. In a lengthy and comprehensive judgment, the Court found that Cipriani (Grosvenor Street) Ltd, Cipriani International SA of Luxembourg, companies controlled by the Cipriani family including Arrigo and Giuseppe Cipriani, and Giuseppe Cipriani personally, were all liable for breach of Hotel Cipriani's Community Trade Mark under Community and English Law and were also liable for passing off. The judge further found that the Defendants' use of the name 'Cipriani' "was not in accordance with honest practices in industrial and commercial matters" and that the Hotel's UK and Community Trade Marks were valid.
As a result of the judgment, Hotel Cipriani is entitled to an injunction preventing the Defendants from carrying on a restaurant business in the UK using the names 'Cipriani' and 'Cipriani London'. In addition to stopping the use of such names, Hotel Cipriani will now seek damages and costs from the Defendants.
Commenting on the judgement, Paul White, President and Chief Executive Officer of Orient-Express Hotels, said, "We are obviously very pleased that this action has been successful. This company has worked long and hard over many years to build a worldwide reputation for Hotel Cipriani, substantiated by the many awards and accolades the hotel and its restaurants win each year. We are entitled to protect this famous name in Europe and it was important to us to do so. 'Cipriani' is one of the many valuable brands owned by the Company and it is our intention to maintain such value by taking the appropriate action in any part of the world when others seek to encroach upon them."
Note to Editors:
Hotel Cipriani was built in 1958 by Lord Iveagh of the Guinness family in collaboration with Giuseppe Cipriani senior, a restaurateur and owner of the famous Harry's Bar in Venice. In 1967, Giuseppe Cipriani senior sold his entire interest in the company which owned Hotel Cipriani (Hotel Cipriani SRL) and agreed that company and the Hotel Villa Cipriani (also at that time owned by the Guinness family) would have the exclusive right to use the name 'Cipriani'. An exception was made for the business which became Locanda Cipriani on Torcello island.
In 1976, the company Hotel Cipriani SRL was purchased by one of the companies of the Sea Containers Group, later becoming part of Orient-Express Hotels. Hotel Cipriani had been in decline for many years prior to 1976 but after that date, benefited from massive investment from its new owners. It expanded hugely, creating two new restaurants, conference and banqueting facilities and restoring the gardens.
Long before 1996, when Hotel Cipriani SRL filed for the trademark, Hotel Cipriani was generally recognised as one of the world's leading hotels, winning awards and welcoming celebrities, crowned heads of Europe and political leaders among its many loyal guests. The hotel's restaurants have always been a fundamental part of the hotel offering and contributed to its reputation, winning their own accolades for food quality, service and ambience.
The legal team acting on behalf of the Company consisted of Solicitors Walker Morris, Ian Purvis and Benet Brandreth of Counsel and the Company's in-house legal department.
SOURCE Orient Express Hotels Ltd

Copyright © 2008 PR Newswire. All rights reserved

sigh

well. that sucks.

The Ciprianis prob don't even care. it could be that the rests in London are just managerial contracts which would explain why they would be so stupid as to infringe on trademarks if thwy already knew that they had sold away the rights to the name. it could be they did the same with London rest investors but just "forgot" to mention the trademark with the hotel. This would be the same case as with Winnick on the Hudson River piers project that got scrapped. Also there was a hotel in Punta del Este. There was alot of hype when the hotel opened but when Ciprinis started going over budget with renovations they got ousted. It migt be th rest investors that get screwed in any lawsuits unless they turn around and sue Ciprianis.

i saw that place ! it's called Mantras now (or was, when i saw it.) yah-- it's kinda a little busted.

didn't i tell the story once of my visit to punta del este ?

i heard that the president of uruguay himself commissioned a whole new road be built JUST for easier access to the hotel back when the Ciprianis had first taken over.

also giuseppe-cipriani's estate there is called "casa gin tonic" (they don't say the "and" in spanish) because there was no such thing as gin and/or tonic in uruguay before the Ciprianis, but since they brought it, it's now like the second most popular (or whatever) drink in uruguay.

true story. i'm just sayin.

yah so

i hear the reason that this is all becoming an issue NOW, is simply because the ciprianis "haven't paid their fees for months now"

which i'm assuming means they were paying for the right to use "Cipriani" in conjunction with restaurants, despite the hotel owning the trademark.




everything in life boils down to two things:

1- money

2- ego

Apparently, he hasn't been paying anyone...


THE LAST SUPPER
By SUSAN EDELMAN, SUSANNAH CAHALAN and BRAD HAMILTON

January 11, 2009 --
The Cipriani empire seems to be crumbling like a stale cannoli.

The famed family that runs a bevy of posh Manhattan restaurants and ban quet halls is straining under a mountain of debt and legal woes - and
mysterious inquiries by FBI agents looking for absent owner Giuseppe Cipriani, employees and friends told The Post.

"They showed up one night about a month ago looking for him," said one of several Rainbow Room staffers who recalled the alarming visit.

Giuseppe, 43, hasn't been seen by Rainbow Room employees since October, they said. He's reportedly in Uruguay at a favorite vacation spot he once managed, the Punta del Este Resort.

A close friend said Giuseppe, an Italian citizen, plans to stay in South America for awhile.

Company spokesman Ryan Toohey would not comment on the FBI visit but insisted "there is no investigation."

The Ciprianis face a plateful of other troubles, including the layoffs of dozens of workers, millions to pay in restitution for tax fraud, lawsuits by vendors and contractors, and now the threat of eviction from the Rainbow Room for failing to pay close to $2 million in rent since September.

The family - which owes more than $315,000 in condo fees for their East 42nd Street eatery, according to city records - has already slapped pink slips on 40 employees of its money-losing Rainbow Grill.

They laid off four others at the Harry Cipriani restaurant on Fifth Avenue in the Sherry-Netherland Hotel, including a beloved maitre d' and a waitress who in 2007 filed a still-active sex-discrimination suit.

Rainbow Room staffers said they loved their jobs but worried about a string of poor managers and longtime lack of maintenance.

"It's pretty shabby," one waiter said.

Workers pointed to water damage on the ceiling, worn chairs with loose backing, dirty curtains and threadbare carpet.

The Ciprianis, who own six restaurants and run other banquet spaces, have repaid about half of $10 million in city and state business taxes they admitted evading in 2007. They owe the rest by 2010.

State Attorney General Andrew Cuomo is probing a complaint by State Liquor Authority Chairman Daniel Boyle that a top aide to Gov. Paterson tried to bully him into approving a $500,000 fine to settle charges that the Ciprianis were unfit to hold liquor licenses.

Boyle voted to revoke their nine licenses last August but was outnumbered by two fellow SLA commissioners.

Last week, the Web site Eater.com posted a sign, apparently by an unpaid vendor, that read: "All Cipriani accounts are ON CREDIT HOLD. No orders will be shipped until further notice."

Last month, Brooklyn-based grocers Eurama Foods sued the Ciprianis, claiming eight restaurants and banquet halls never paid for $367,000 in goods.

Last May, Manhattan builders Katselnik & Katselnik sued for $341,829 allegedly owed for renovation work at Harry Cipriani.

In a statement, the company blasted "legal sideshows, attempts to create intrigue, and inaccurate allegations. We remain focused on serving our customers with the same dedication and love we have for nearly a century."

Additional reporting by Angela Montefinise, Cynthia R. Fagen and Melissa Klein.

susan.edelman@nypost.com

Giuseppe has always been nice to me but I know people that hate him and I can definitely see why. But The Post has always had it out for him. Probably because he has never kissed their ass. Notice that Cuzzo was the only one that changed his tune after he got treated better by them.