MANUFACTURING | LEGAL
Georges Marciano Files Lawsuit Against Guess Over Name
Georges Marciano, who founded Guess 35 years ago, filed a lawsuit against the Los Angeles clothing company run by his brothers to be able to use his name for new clothing labels he wants to develop.
Marciano, who now lives in Montreal, filed the motion in the Superior Court of Quebec on March 18.
His attorney, Quentin Leclercq, said that four years ago Marciano tried to trademark the name Royal Navy by Georges Marciano. When he did, Guess Group Inc. filed an opposition to the trademarked name with the Canadian Intellectual Property Office, maintaining it could easily be confused with Marciano by Guess, one of the company’s apparel labels.
A spokesperson for Guess said the lawsuit is without merit.
In 1993, Georges Marciano sold his share of the company to his three brothers—Paul, Maurice and Armand. Paul and Maurice remain with the company. Before he left the company, Georges Marciano licensed his name to Guess in 1985. That license was revoked in 1993, legal documents said.
Recently, Georges Marciano tried to trademark the names Georges Marciano Ranch, Georges Marciano by Georges Marciano and Georges Marciano, only to be told by the Canadian Intellectual Property Office that he could not do that because of Guess’ opposition.
“We received a letter from the intellectual property office saying that Georges cannot register these trademarks because of the risk of confusion with the trademark Marciano and Guess by Marciano,” Leclercq said. “We have asked the judge to give an answer to how and who can use the name Marciano. Our position is that everybody can use Marciano with their first name.”
For years after leaving Guess, Georges Marciano lived in Beverly Hills, Calif., and invested in commercial real estate, making another fortune. But in 2008, Marciano was countersued for defamation by seven former employees, who he alleged had embezzled millions of dollars from him. A jury awarded the employees $470 million, which later was reduced by the judge to $260 million.
After the awards, Marciano’s three Beverly Hills homes were put up for sale by a trustee in Marciano’s bankruptcy proceedings. Marciano moved to Montreal.
