Start-up wins legal battle against billion-dollar corporation

Kumpan Electric has been in dispute with Vespa manufacturer Piaggio for a good four years. Now the European Union Intellectual Property Office has has confirmed the start-up's point of view.

Remagen-based start-up Kumpan Electric has scored a victory against Vespa manufacturer Piaggio in a legal dispute that has been going on for a good four years. The dispute also led to a scandal at the EICMA industry trade fair in Milan. At the time, Piaggio had the e-scooters of the start-up from Rhineland-Palatinate confiscated by the police. The Germans had simply copied the design. As a result, Kumpan Electric stood with an empty stand at the important industry trade fair.

In addition, Piaggio had filed a complaint with the European Union Intellectual Property Office (Eupio) at the time and applied there for invalidity. The Italian manufacturer felt that its trademark, design and copyright rights to the design of the well-known Vespa scooters had been infringed by the Kumpan design. If he had been proved right, Kumpan Electric would no longer have been allowed to market its scooters. But the Eupio Board of Appeal has now rejected Piaggio's request.

"We are pleased and relieved to be confirmed once again at the European level: Our design is not an imitation of a Vespa scooter," says Philipp Tykesson, one of the founders and managing directors of e-bility GmbH, the company behind the Kumpan Electric brand. "The years-long legal battle has tied up enormous resources and kept us out of one of the most important scooter markets in Europe - Italy," Tykesson says. Piaggio, however, still has another legal avenue open. The company now has two months to file a complaint with the Court of Justice of the European Union, otherwise Eupio's decision will become final.