Now that the grounds of decision of the District Court in
Düsseldorf regarding the cancellation of the German trade mark
"TESTAROSSA" have been published, we can gain further
insight into the case.
The decision finds the cancellation action to be justified,
because no sufficient proof of use of the trade mark was provided
by Ferrari. A main focus of the decision was the question of
the nature of genuine use. Genuine use of a trade mark exists
where the mark is used in accordance with its essential function,
which is to guarantee the identity of the origin of the goods or
services for which it is registered. According to the court, the
use that was proven in connection with maintenance services or
spare parts does not fulfill the function of a trade mark, because
the use of the mark is not considered genuine use in relation to
the goods for which it is registered, but rather merely to be a
reference to describe other goods/services e.g. goods that are
spare parts
