A LEADING Spanish restaurant chain has been ordered to change its name after the Italian government won a long-running legal battle alleging that the company’s moniker was offensive.
Bosses at ‘La Mafia se sienta a la mesa’ – known in English as ‘The Mafia Sits at the Table’ – will have to conjure up a new name after Spain’s patent and trademark office ruled that the brand ran counter to ‘both public order and morality’.
The verdict finally draws the curtain on a long-running legal battle spearheaded by the Italian government.
Italy has pursued the case through various courts and official bodies in recent years, alleging that the ‘La Mafia’ name trivialises attempts to fight organised crime.
Eight years ago, the European Union’s Intellectual Property Office ruled that the name was unlawful as it conveyed a ‘globally positive image’ of the mafia, the name given to clan-based criminal organisations such as the Cosa Nostra that informally run swathes of Italy.
It said the brand was ‘therefore likely to shock or offend not only the victims of that criminal organisation and their families, but also any person who on EU territory encounters that mark and has average sensitivity and tolerance thresholds’.
The restaurant chain have the right to appeal the latest verdict, claiming that the name was conceived from a recipe book rather than the infamous criminal gang, featured in popular films such as The Godfather and Goodfellas.
They said the term ‘mafia is indeed used in other industries such as audiovisual or literary, and the Spanish public identifies this term as an allusion to a cultural phenomenon, rather than a criminal organisation’.
Ruling in favour of the Italian government, Spain’s trademark office said: “The controversial name runs counter to both public order and morality.
“The main name directly reproduces the name of a real criminal organisation, whose activity is not a remote or merely literary phenomenon, but a persistent reality.”
In response, the company said: “Over the years, we have tried on numerous occasions to explain the origin and meaning of our name, but we haven’t had a real opportunity to do so.
“As has always been the case, we are uninvolved and distance ourselves from any negative connotations attributed to us by the Spanish patent and trademark office and the Italian embassy.
“Our focus is on continuing to build the company’s future, and we remain true to the essence of the project: a high-quality Italian-Mediterranean culinary offering and a distinctive dining experience.”
‘La Mafia se sienta a la mesa’ opened in the early 2000s and now has more than 60 restaurants across Spain.
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