EUIPO Recognizes Vespa Design as Intellectual Property

The Vespa Primavera has been protected since September 2026 as a three-dimensional trademark across all 27 EU states — a historic victory for Piaggio and a clear message to copycats. The European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO) has recognized the iconic form of the legendary scooter as protected intellectual property. This ruling carries far-reaching consequences for imitation protection in vehicle design.

European design history has many chapters, yet the Vespa chapter is one of the strongest in the entire history of industrial property rights. Piaggio & C., the Italian manufacturer of the legendary scooters, has obtained from the EUIPO the registration of a three-dimensional trademark for the form of the Vespa Primavera. This trademark protects the iconic design of the Vespa across all 27 member states of the European Union. The recognition also covers stylistic developments as long as the characteristic Vespa identity is maintained — a precedent that has significance far beyond the scooter market.

For legal practice in industrial property rights, this is a landmark case: The three-dimensional trademark represents one of the strongest forms of protection in the IP system. It goes far beyond the protection offered by a registered Community Design (EuG), as it protects not just the specific design, but the entire characteristic form. This article explains the legal background, the scope, and the strategic significance of this decision.

The Three-Dimensional Trademark — Strong IP Protection for Product Design

European Trademark Law Overview

Under Article 4 of the European Union Trade Mark Regulation (EUTM Regulation), a three-dimensional trademark is any trademark that can be represented by signs capable of distinguishing the goods or services of one enterprise from those of other enterprises. This can be the shape of the goods or their packaging. Unlike word or figurative marks, the three-dimensional trademark protects the three-dimensional shape of the product itself — that is, the spatial form that consumers associate with a particular company.

The requirements for registering a three-dimensional trademark are particularly stringent. The shape must have distinctive character, either inherently or acquired through use. For product designs, inherent distinctive character is regularly disputed, as the shape primarily serves functional or technical purposes. Piaggio took the second route with the Vespa Primavera: acquired distinctive character through use.

The EUIPO approved the application for registration of the three-dimensional trademark for the Vespa Primavera shape, recognizing the distinctive character acquired by the shape through use. This means: When the average consumer sees the Vespa scooter, they think not just of a vehicle, but specifically of Piaggio — and that is exactly what a trademark is supposed to protect, namely the origin function.

Difference from Registered Designs

An important legal distinction: A registered design (Geschmacksmuster) protects the novelty and individual character of a design, but only for a limited period — a maximum of 25 years in the EU. A trademark, by contrast, can be protected indefinitely, as long as it is continuously used and renewed every ten years. Furthermore, trademark protection offers a broader scope, as it also covers the risk of confusion with similar shapes — not just identity with the specific registered design.

Thus, the three-dimensional trademark registration is significantly more effective for Piaggio than protection via a registered Community Design (EuG). The case of Piaggio against the Chinese manufacturer Zhejiang (EuG T-219/18, September 2019) showed how difficult design-right protection against imitations from Asia can be. The General Court dismissed Piaggio’s claim in that case due to a lack of sufficient proof of confusion and novelty of the Chinese design.

→ The three-dimensional trademark goes far beyond the design right: It protects the form as a source identifier — unlimited, EU-wide, and with broader scope.

The Registration Procedure — How EUIPO Recognized the Vespa Shape

Proving Acquired Distinctive Character

The EUIPO examined and confirmed the application for registration of the three-dimensional trademark for the Vespa Primavera. According to the EUIPO press release, the application for three-dimensional trademarks for two-wheel vehicles and model sets was approved, recognizing the distinctive character that the shape of the “Vespa Primavera” has acquired through use.

A central element of the proof was Piaggio’s demonstration that the relevant public perceives the Vespa form as a source identifier, not merely as a design element or a purely aesthetic decision. This was achieved through extensive market studies, sales figures, advertising, and the long-standing market presence of the Vespa — which has been a cultural icon since 1946 and has maintained a design that has not fundamentally changed over many generations.

Importantly, the EUIPO does not protect only the exact form of the classic Vespa Primavera, but also stylistic developments, as long as the typical Vespa character is preserved. This means that the characteristic line flows, the distinctive belly pan, and the unmistakable silhouette are protected as an overall image — even if individual elements have varied slightly across the various Vespa generations.

Scope of Protection

The protection of the three-dimensional trademark for the Vespa Primavera includes:

• Geographic scope: All 27 EU member states — no national procedure required
• Product category: Vehicles (Class 12) and model kits (Class 28)
• Protection level: The entire appearance of the Vespa, including stylistic variants
• Duration: Unlimited, renewable every 10 years

This gives Piaggio a tool that enables it to pursue imitations and copycats not just in Italy, but throughout the entire EU. This is a significant strategic advantage compared to the earlier system, where every violation had to be asserted nationally — with different legal provisions, costs, and procedures in each individual country.

Case Law and Historical Context

The Piaggio vs. Zhejiang Case — Why Trademark Protection Is Better

An important milestone in Piaggio’s legal history was the case Piaggio & C. / EUIPO — Zhejiang Zhongneng Industry Group (General Court T-219/18), decided on September 24, 2019. Piaggio had sued the EUIPO at the European General Court against a decision registering a Community Design for an electric scooter by the Chinese manufacturer Zhejiang.

The General Court ruled in favor of Zhejiang, rejecting Piaggio’s application for a declaration of invalidity of the design. The reasoning was that the novelty and individual character of the Chinese design could not be disproven and that no risk of confusion existed. This loss was a hard blow for Piaggio — it showed how difficult it is to protect the Vespa against imitation through design rights alone.

It was precisely for this reason that the three-dimensional trademark registration was such a crucial turning point: It provides a stronger, unlimited, and EU-wide uniform foundation on which copycats can be combated — without the problems of national procedures and without the narrow limits of design-right protection.

Interestingly, Piaggio also argued in that case that the design of the Chinese electric scooter violated the Vespa as an unregistered three-dimensional trademark and as a creative work within the meaning of copyright law. The General Court rejected these arguments as well — another indication that formal trademark protection (now available with the Vespa Primavera trademark) is the most effective form of protection.

Previous Cases and Precedents

The Vespa is not the first product design for which the EUIPO has recognized a three-dimensional trademark. Well-known examples include the Coca-Cola bottle, the Rolex ring, and the Louis Vuitton monogram pattern. Recognizing a three-dimensional trademark for a vehicle design remains relatively rare, however. The hurdles are high, and only a few manufacturers can succeed in proving that their product form fulfills the origin function in the minds of the public.

The Vespa cleared this hurdle through over 80 years of cultural conditioning. The scooter has shaped the image of motorized two-wheelers across Europe and has become a cultural symbol. Exactly that is the basis for the three-dimensional trademark: The form is not just a design, but a culturally anchored symbol that is identified with a specific company.

Strategic Significance for Industrial Property Rights

Cultural Heritage as a Legal Instrument

The Vespa trademark demonstrates how cultural heritage and industrial property rights intersect. In an era where many automotive and vehicle brands are losing their iconic designs, Piaggio has managed to preserve the classic Vespa design across generations and protect it precisely through that preservation. The protection of the Vespa design also shows how important it is to strategically manage one’s own trademark portfolio — not just defensively, but as active brand communication.

For companies that understand their product form as part of their brand identity, the Vespa is a model example: A trademark is not just a logo or a name, but can be the physical form of the product itself. The legal protection of this form gives the company the ability to secure the entire appearance against copycats — across the entire EU and indefinitely.

Consequences for Copycats and Imitators

For competitors and copycats, the three-dimensional Vespa trademark means that the entire appearance of the Vespa is legally protected in the EU. This means:

• No more Vespa-like designs: Manufacturers producing Vespa-like scooters risk trademark infringement and confusion across all 27 EU states.
• Overall design protection: Not just the exact form, but the typical overall appearance is protected — including the characteristic belly pan, line flow, and silhouette.
• EU-wide enforcement: Piaggio can pursue violations in any EU country through court action, without having to conduct separate national proceedings.
• Unlimited protection: Unlike design-right protection, there is no expiry date — as long as Piaggio uses the trademark, the protection remains in force.

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