Marina Militare

[Uhrenfreund]

Hello,
i have a few question to the name Marina Militare.
I have searched the Internet and i do not come to a anser.

Is Marina Militare a brand name of Panarai or of the Italian Navy?

On Wikipedia i read that there a Asian Watches with this name are available and you can official buy it.

An then i find this:
Richemont took eight years to go after the sellers of Parnis watches, but when they did, the watches came down. The Company and its subsidiaries jumped on a court docket on 11 November 2016, and before the defendants could respond, Richemont received a default judgment on 25 January 2017.

What was this?

Because i want to know:
Is it legal to buy a watch with the name Marina Militare (without the name Panarai)?

Is it legal to buy a watch that look like a Panarai but the dail is clean?

I hope you can answer my questions.

 

[mysterio]

You do know you're posting on a forum on a hobby that basically infringes on everything that the luxury watch manufacturers like Panerai and by extension Richemont have patented right? I mean in the 4 1/2 years you've been here.

Anyway, to answer your question.

1. It is not illegal to buy a watch with the name Marina Militare (without the Panerai branding).

2. It is not illegal to buy a watch that looks like a Panerai but the dial is sterile/clean.

To give a little background, Marina Militare is not owned by Richemont S.A., nor by Officine Panerai. It is owned by the Italian Navy (in fact Marina Militare is Italian Navy in Italian). What Richemont is suing Parnis et. al. for is the use of their patented device protecting the crown, commonly referred to as the crown guard.

Now, to buy a Parnis watch with this design, (or any full on replica for that matter), although it does infringe on the patent filed by Richemont, generally speaking, it is not illegal to purchase such an item for personal use. Only when you sell the item does the law on copyright infringement applies. Again, this is a general rule although there may be cases where possession of replicas will result in such items being confiscated (in Switzerland and in France, I've read isolated cases).

 

[kingcrab]

for 4.5 sec I thought you were a newbie...lol no offense..but yes to what Mysterio said

 

[Uhrenfreund]

@mysterio and @kingcrab

You do know you're posting on a forum on a hobby that basically infringes on everything that the luxury watch manufacturers like Panerai and by extension Richemont have patented right? I mean in the 4 1/2 years you've been here.

I know where i am posting. I know the game. If i buy i replica i know that this is not legal. But my questions are therefore to know when is a watch that looks like a Panerai replica by law.

it is not illegal to purchase such an item for personal use

Yes. That is general. In Europe you get a problem when you buy a watch with the name Marina Militare on it. I read in other watch forums (non replicas forums) that watches with the name Marina Militare on it were seized by customs. And in many watch forums it is only allowed to write the name Marina Militare in association with Panerai. If you are searching for a Marina Militare watch that is not from Panerai you must use other words like MM.

And then i read this here:
Marina Militare watches are pulled from Ebay, Amazon, Aliexpress and others, because there was a final judgement on 25. January 2017.
http://www.asian-watches.com/2017/02/marina-militare-parnis-watches-pulled.html

When i buy a replica i have to use Triangle Shipment for EU, because it is safer. But i want to know if i have to use Triangle Shipment also for Marina Militare watches without Panerai on the dial or for watches that look like Panerai.
I hoped someone of you knows exactly the law in this case.

I also read if there is only Parnis at the watch it is no problem, because everbody can see that it is a hommage. This is also like watches from Steinhart and so on.

This is no question from a Newbie. I want to know the real facts. You cannot find it on the Internet and i also see it is difficult here. But i think together we can check it out.

 

[mysterio]

@mysterio and @kingcrab


I know where i am posting. I know the game. If i buy i replica i know that this is not legal. But my questions are therefore to know when is a watch that looks like a Panerai replica by law.


Yes. That is general. In Europe you get a problem when you buy a watch with the name Marina Militare on it. I read in other watch forums (non replicas forums) that watches with the name Marina Militare on it were seized by customs. And in many watch forums it is only allowed to write the name Marina Militare in association with Panerai. If you are searching for a Marina Militare watch that is not from Panerai you must use other words like MM.

And then i read this here:
Marina Militare watches are pulled from Ebay, Amazon, Aliexpress and others, because there was a final judgement on 25. January 2017.
http://www.asian-watches.com/2017/02/marina-militare-parnis-watches-pulled.html

When i buy a replica i have to use Triangle Shipment for EU, because it is safer. But i want to know if i have to use Triangle Shipment also for Marina Militare watches without Panerai on the dial or for watches that look like Panerai.
I hoped someone of you knows exactly the law in this case.

I also read if there is only Parnis at the watch it is no problem, because everbody can see that it is a hommage. This is also like watches from Steinhart and so on.

This is no question from a Newbie. I want to know the real facts. You cannot find it on the Internet and i also see it is difficult here. But i think together we can check it out.

Really? Confiscating based on the Marina Militare branding? That's news to me. Legally, only the Italian Navy is allowed to license the Marina Militare trademark and even then, they aren't policing every nook and cranny of the whole European Union. They're too busy with the important matter of protecting Italian maritime interests.

Can you point where these alleged threads are? There are probably discussion threads on this matter of legality (I've read them in the gen fora as well) but nothing fairly recent. I've heard absolutely nothing with regards to EU customs seizing shipments because they were marked Marina Militare.

 

[Uhrenfreund]

Can you point where these alleged threads are? There are probably discussion threads on this matter of legality (I've read them in the gen fora as well) but nothing fairly recent. I've heard absolutely nothing with regards to EU customs seizing shipments because they were marked Marina Militare.

Yes i will link this Threads here.

But i think i found the answer.

http://www.trademarkia.com/marina-militare-79011293.html

Marina Militare is a Tradmark of Panerai for Juwellery, watches, etc.

Look at the site. The status was updated von 25 January 2017. And i wrote here before that there was an final Judgedment on this date. But i do not know this case.

For me it is clear. A watch with the name Marina Militare on it, is a Replica by law. It is the same as you buy a Panerai Replica. And therefore it can be seized by customs.

I thnk it will be a good idea to post this on a stcky Thread. Because i think the most Users here do not know this.