Magniflex USA President Marco Magni said that a trademark infringement lawsuit filed against it by the Bellagio hotel casino in Las Vegas was being reviewed by the company’s attorneys, yet he believed that the lawsuit was largely without merit.
“We named our aromatherapy mattress the ‘Bellagio Lavender’ after the city in the Lake Como region of northern Italy,” said Magni. “We are proud of our Italian heritage, and as a result, many of our mattresses are branded to pay homage to major cities and cultural centers in our country. This branding strategy is not unlike the marketing approaches taken by hundreds of global products, services, and real estate properties that carry the name of famous international cities.”
Magniflex emphasized that its brand is synonymous with fine “made in Italy” craftsmanship and that, as a result, many of its products’ names celebrate this identity and quality. The company believes that its Bellagio Lavender mattress – which has wholly unique features such as the infusion of pure lavender – can in no way be confused with a dramatically different product that happens to be named after a hotel-casino in Las Vegas.
The Bellagio Lavender mattress was initially launched in Italy and European Union in 2009 before it was introduced in the United States this year.
Magni went on to state that, when naming the Bellagio Lavender mattress, Magniflex was unaware of the hotel’s line of home products or the pending trademark of the Bellagio as a brand name. Magni added, “Upon review of these trademark-related matters, Magniflex will assess the validity of the trademark infringement claim and, subsequently, we will address all relevant legal and branding issues as they pertain to our product marketing initiatives in the United States and worldwide.”
Magniflex is Italy’s largest mattress manufacturer, producing a broad line of bedding products that the company ships to more than 70 countries around the world. Founded more than 50 years ago in Prato, Italy, Magniflex has built a reputation as the world leader in quality, comfort, and innovation. For more information, visit www.magniflex.com.