Gucci sued Guess over the letter G — Milan cancelled Gucci's own trademarks

In 2009 Gucci sued Guess on two continents at once — New York and Milan — alleging trademark infringement, counterfeiting and unfair competition over Guess's use of the letter G, including its 'Quattro G' logo. In the United States Gucci sought $221 million. Guess co-chairman and co-chief executive Paul Marciano would describe the campaign as 'forum shopping all over the world to try and stop Guess from expanding its successful accessories business' — three years of litigation in New York, four in Milan.

The New York case closed in 2012 as a technical Gucci win and a practical one for Guess: of the $221 million sought, the court awarded $4.7 million — later reduced to $456,183. Less than a quarter of one per cent of the claim survived the trial.

Then came the home defeat. In May 2013 the Milan court rejected every Gucci claim, and went further: it cancelled Gucci's Italian trademarks for the diamond pattern, the G logo and the Flora pattern, holding that the single-G stamp was common in fashion and that Guess's Quattro G already had 'remarkable notoriety' of its own. Marciano called Gucci's tactics 'nothing less than bullying,' adding the fight 'should have been easily resolved with a simple phone call, which Gucci never made.' Gucci called the decision 'extremely incorrect' — 'parasitic free-riding' — and said it would appeal.