Through a recent judgment, the Tribunal of Milan return to outline the borders of the application of the image right. In fact, it had to give a decision on the consequence of the counterfeit a product of an “eco-friendly” company using leather instead of eco-sustainable materials.

The judgment no. 2790 of March 9, 2017 decides a dispute that found its origin in the counterfeiting, executed by an Italian brand, of the bag “Falabella”, the flagship product of the stylist Stella McCartney (daughter of the singer of the Beatles), who, as a result of an ethic choice, doesn’t make her products using leather, but only eco-sustainable materials.

So, in the judge’s opinion, if, on one hand, the use of a different material – leather – doesn’t exclude the counterfeit, on the other one it must be considered in terms of a significant discredit resulting from the betrayal, in the eyes of the consumers, of the environmentalist message that the Stella McCartney Ltd brings excluding from its productions any material of animal origin and investing in research of alternative eco-sustainable materials.

The conduct adopted by the Italian brand was considered as prejudicial to the image of an environment- and animal-friendly company, which reflects the ethical principles to which the company aspires and claim to adhere: this is the basis on which the Tribunal of Milan declares the necessity of the compensation for damages to the image of the company.