On July 12, 2006, the European Court of First Instance ruled that there was no likelihood of confusion between the two marks above.
For the Court, the unusual merger of Marco and Rossi in a single word, without any blank, visually and intellectually brought to a whole without being divided. The distinction between Marco and Rossi could only be made with special efforts of the consumer.
Moreover, as the marks both were for clothing products, the judge retained the prevalence of the visual comparison considering that these products are usually ordered orally by consumers.
This decision questions the usual case law which regarded as similar trademarks composed of the same full name and a different first name. It could open the door to a process for moving away from such full name trademarks.