Alleged Vespa Knockoffs Seized at 2012 EICMA Show

Dennis Chung
by Dennis Chung

Italian law enforcement agents seized six scooter models from the 2012 EICMA show in Milan, Italy, after receiving complaints they were counterfeits of Vespa scooters.

The six scooters were seized by the Guardia di Finanza, a law enforcement agency operating under Italy’s Ministry of Economy and Finance whose responsibilities range from combating smuggling and financial crimes to counterfeiting and copyright violations.

Following a complaint by the Piaggio Group, authorities seized the following six models:

  • The Roman by the TaoTao Group
  • The WL 101Z by Ningbo Wanli Weiye International Trade Co.
  • The Luxury by Bertini S.r.l.
  • The Reset Ecologic by WRS S.r.l.
  • The Miami by E-Tropolis Italia S.r.l.
  • The Milano by E-Tropolis Italia S.r.l.

All of the seized models are electric-powered scooters except the Roman which uses a 150cc internal combustion engine.

This isn’t the first time authorities seized models from EICMA for alleged copyright infringements. Last year, the Guardia di Finanza seized the three-wheeled Yiben YB 250 ZKT alleging it too closely resembled the Piaggio MP3.

Both the TaoTao and Ningbo Wanli Weiye stands were closed, as the seized models were the only ones they had on display. The Bertini, WRS and E-Tropolis Italia stands remain open as they have other models that were not seized.

[Source: Motoblog.it]

Dennis Chung
Dennis Chung

Dennis has been a part of the Motorcycle.com team since 2008, and through his tenure, has developed a firm grasp of industry trends, and a solid sense of what's to come. A bloodhound when it comes to tracking information on new motorcycles, if there's a new model on the horizon, you'll probably hear about it from him first.

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