Source: Motorrad Online | The Kumpan Electric booth at EICMA 2018 was an empty exhibition space. Why? Because scooter giant Piaggio claimed Kumpan Electric to have imitated the design of the Vespa, filed criminal charges and had the Kumpan Electric stand cleared. Kumpan electric’s 1954 Ri electric scooters were confiscated by the Italian financial police (Guardia di Finanza). For Kumpan the fair was over.

In November 2018 we also wrote about this issue:

At the same time, in November 2018, Piaggio filed an application for the annulation of the design of Kumpan Electric at the European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO). Piaggio was in the opinion that Kumpan scooters were “not new” and had no “peculiarities”. After almost two years of examination and evidence, the EUIPO has completely rejected Piaggio’s application.

This means that the protection of the design of the Kumpan 1954 Ri model remains. Among other things, the office relies on the fact that the design freedom in the design of a scooter is limited as it has to have two wheels, a seat, handlebars, a protective shield and a cover for the engine. Kumpan emphasizes that the 1954 Ri model has enough features to set it apart from other manufacturers. Piaggio now has eight weeks to appeal against the rejection of the application.