Uffizi reports historic victory against online scalpers

Important victory for the Uffizi against online scalping. The Federal Court of Arizona has in fact ruled that only the Florentine museum can use websites containing the name “Uffizi,” such as uffizi.com, uffizi.net, uffizigallery.com, uffizigallery.org and the like. All were sites registered by third parties who used them to sell tickets online at a premium price, misusing the museum’s name by misleading visitors convinced they were buying museums from official dealers. Now these domain names can only be used by the Uffizi, which is recognized as the legitimate owner of the name.

Director Eike Schmidt lays claim to the result, since, reads a museum memo, the first international court battle the Mibact has ever fought on this front is the Uffizi’s own and began soon after Schmidt’s arrival at the helm of the Florence museum. The trial pitted the Uffizi against the BoxNic Anstalt company, which had registered numerous domains containing the Uffizi name in Arizona. The company had been using them for years for its own exclusive profit, effectively engaging in secondary ticketing to the detriment of the Gallery and its reputation.

The Federal Court of Arizona therefore declared the “superior right of the museum” over the company to use the Uffizi name, trademark and logo. The BoxNic company, for its part, had justified itself by claiming that the term “uffizi” was not a term referring to the world-famous Gallery, but simply the outdated version of the word ’offices’: an argument that did not convince the Arizona court, which found it specious and unfounded, finding the company guilty of cybersquatting (abusive occupation of computer space), trademark infringement and dilution (infringement and exploitation of identity and trademark), and unfair competition. The ruling therefore imposed a ban on BoxNic from using both the name and logo of the Uffizi (even in similar versions) and a ban on authorizing others to do so, obliging it to transfer to the Uffizi itself, within 15 days, the registration of the domains it had appropriated.

“This is a historic victory, not only for Uffizi, for Mibact and for cultural heritage, but also for the dignity of honest citizens,” commented Director Eike Schmidt. “We have dealt a devastating blow against the vampires of the Web who for years, like parasites, have illegally and in bad faith exploited our heritage and our image, taking resources away from the common good. But not only that: these pirate sites have in fact misled visitors from all over the world. The Arizona court’s ruling marks a very important international precedent, because from today life will be much more difficult for all scalpers who, from every country, try to enrich themselves with our name. We are now ready to take action against each of them, confident that we can win.” Schmidt went on to thank “the excellent legal department of the Uffizi, the Legislative Office of the Mibact, the Italian Embassy in Washington, and the team of American lawyers who have assisted us in this battle to defend our brand and Italian culture in the world.”

Image: the Ponente Corridor of the Uffizi Gallery.

Uffizi reports historic victory against online scalpers

Warning: the translation into English of the original Italian article was created using automatic tools. We undertake to review all articles, but we do not guarantee the total absence of inaccuracies in the translation due to the program. You can find the original by clicking on the ITA button. If you find any mistake,please contact us.