There's another MARQUES Coexistence Agreement Workshop coming up, and this time it's Italy's turn to host it. The date of this event is Thursday, 16 October, 2014 and the venue is the Milan office of MARQUES members Studio Legale Jacobacci & Associati.  

To summarise the aim to be achieved:

The objective of this workshop will be to sensitise participants to the commercial and legal issues that arise when the potential conflict of two or more businesses with similar brands and trademarks may be avoided by negotiating a prior rights agreement (‘coexistence agreement’). The workshop will commence at 15.30hrs and end with a drinks reception at 18.30hrs. Please note that this meeting will be conducted in the Italian language. The cost to attend this workshop is €25

Thinking back over the Italian litigation on brands over the past two decades -- in Italy, OHIM and the Court of Justice -- with all the Rossis fighting one another and with the Guccis, Puccis and Tuccis contesting their images with passion, this blogger thinks that there cannot be many countries where coexistence agreements are more necessary, or harder to achieve.

Full details of this event, plus registration, can be accessed here.

Photo: Pierluigi Collina: some Italians are very difficult to negotiate with ...