MILAN – Zicaffè, a historic Sicilian coffee roaster, versus Zara, the Spanish fashion retail behemoth. The object of contention is the name chosen by Zara for its new chain of coffee shops – Zacaffe. Zara is a subsidiary of the Spanish multinational fashion design, manufacturing, and retailing group Inditex.
The Italian company argues the name Zacaffe is too similar to its own brand, which could lead to an unfair advantage for the Spanish giant and the risk of confusion on the market.
For this reason, Zicaffe, which roasts and exports coffee blends, has asked the European Union’s Intellectual Property Office (EUIOP) to block Inditex’s use of the name Zacaffe.
Inditex filed a request to patent the Zacaffe brand on Oct. 7 and people and companies opposing it have until Jan. 10 to respond. Zicaffè lodged its response to the Spanish fashion chain’s patent application on December 25, according to official records published on EUIOP’s website seen by Reuters.
A EUIOP registration process takes several weeks and includes possibilities for appeals, says Reuters.
Inditex opened its first Zacaffe coffee shop in a new Zara Man store in Madrid as part of a broader strategy to offer new shopping experiences to boost sales.
Zara has previously been involved in a dispute with another Italian coffee roaster, Bazzara Caffè. The dispute dates back to 2015 and the Spanish giant filed a complaint, again with the EUIOP, challenging both the logo and the name chosen by the Trieste-based roaster.
Bazzara is not a fancy name, but the surname of the roaster’s owners.
