Valentino name subject of suit over restaurant

Grace Leong

Friday, Oct. 15, 1999 | 10:56 a.m.

Valentino's of America Inc., Val Ltd. and two subsidiaries are seeking a preliminary injunction against Valentino Las Vegas LLC to prohibit the company from operating and advertising its Italian restaurant under the Valentino's name at the Venetian hotel-casino.

In a District Court suit, the plaintiff alleged Valentino Las Vegas infringed its trademark rights when it opened its restaurant in July, even after Valentino's denied its request for permission to use its trademark in Las Vegas.

The suit said Jane Shay Wald, an attorney of Zum Ritter Corp., sought Valentino's consent last year to open the Las Vegas restaurant under the Valentino name. Zum Ritter Corp. owns Zum Ritter Las Vegas LLC, which manages Valentino Las Vegas LLC, which owns the restaurant Piero Selvaggio Valentino.

"We wanted to clear this issue up front at that time. But just because the negotiations didn't go anywhere then, was I going to stop opening the restaurant in Las Vegas?" said Piero Selvaggio, owner of Piero Selvaggio Valentino.

Since 1972 Zum Ritter Corp. has been operating a fine-dining restaurant named Valentino at 3115 Pico Blvd in Santa Monica, Calif. "Twenty-seven years ago, we decided to call the Californian restaurant Valentino because of the Rudolph Valentino connection with Hollywood. Now are we supposed to change our name because the pizza company tells us to?" Selvaggio said.

Women swooned over Rudolph Valentino, the first film matinee idol and the first male ethnic sex symbol. His death at 31 in 1926 contributed to his legend.

Valentino's of America is closely affiliated to Val Ltd. which owns Valentino's of Lincoln Inc. and Valentino's of Omaha Inc., and has marketed its Italian restaurants under the Valentino's trademark since July 1957, the suit said.

Valentino's said it owns the right to the Valentino's mark for restaurant services, and that it was issued Sep. 21, 1982. This registration covers the entire nation except for California, Hawaii, New York, Ohio and Washington D.C.

"There is no other Piero Selvaggio Valentino in Las Vegas. That name belongs to me. Our restaurant name has three words and no 's' at the end. If they feel they are so in love with the Valentino name or so jealous of it, they should pursue the other independent restaurants named Valentino in the country," Selvaggio said.

"We don't serve pizza. So what is the confusion going to be over?"

Valentino's attorney, Alan McCollom, said this suit is the fourth filed by the company to protect its trademark rights. "The other three, two in Colorado and one in Kansas, were settled by agreement, and all the defendants agreed to stop using the name."

Valentino's said it denied Zum Ritter Corp.'s request for permission to use its trademark because it is continuing with its national expansion, had solicited franchisees in a nationwide advertising campaign and met and identified with prospective franchisees in Nevada.

Val's two subsidiaries own and operate 22 non-franchised Italian restaurants out of a total of 47 Valentino's restaurants that provide both dine-in, buffet and take-out services including pizza throughout Nebraska, Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, North Dakota and South Dakota. Another three Valentino's restaurants are under construction.