A long phone call, yesterday morning, between the minister for Made in Italy Adolfo Urso and the mayor Gian Carlo Muzzarelli after the SOS launched by the mayor himself on the stage of the Motor Valley Fest on the need to defend the Modena brand. The appeal was immediately accepted and Urso personally called Muzzarelli, ensuring “the Government’s maximum support”.
The story is well known: the Chinese company Xiaomi intends to call one of its cars ‘Modena’, taking advantage of a suggestion from our country to pass off the car as Italian.
This was enough to infuriate the mayor who gave the Municipality’s lawyers a mandate to understand “what can be done to prevent the Modena brand from being exploited by someone who is not even present in Italy and does not produce here in our territory”.
Minister Urso, yesterday morning, underlined that there is a rule that can counter “false indications, i.e. the use of Italian symbols or names in products made in other countries”. Urso also illustrated what was introduced by the new European regulation on geographical indications for artisanal and industrial products, which can allow greater protection of productions linked to the Motor Valley model, “pride of Made in Italy cars”. For this reason, the ministry’s offices have already carried out an initial survey of over two hundred places in Italy that are typical for their production, which can claim the recognition of “geographical indication” provided for in the new regulation to protect consumers and EU producers.
Muzzarelli thanked the minister, explaining that “the Municipality will continue to ensure that the rights of the territory are safeguarded”, while also urging the government’s attention to Maserati, grappling with a crisis that has repeatedly threatened employment.
The case of the Chinese who use the suggestion of the Modena brand for one of their cars, evoking the great brands of the Motor Valley, from Ferrari to Maserati, is nothing other than yet another chapter in the immoderate use of “Italian sounding”.
