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February 13, 2012

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Mattress maker responds to Bellagio’s trademark suit

By Steve Green (contact)

Friday, Aug. 6, 2010 | 2:49 p.m.

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Italian mattress maker Magniflex on Friday denied assertions in a lawsuit that its "Bellagio" mattresses are infringing on trademarks owned by the Bellagio hotel-casino on the Las Vegas Strip.

MGM Resorts International's Bellagio hotel-casino filed suit Wednesday in Las Vegas against Magniflex USA, saying consumers may be confused between the Magniflex mattresses and the Bellagio hotel-branded mattresses that are used in the resort and sold online and through a store at the Strip resort. The Bellagio hotel mattresses are custom-manufactured by industry giant Serta.

In a statement, Magniflex USA President Marco Magni said the suit was being reviewed by the company’s attorneys, yet he believed "that the lawsuit was largely without merit."

"We named our aromatherapy mattress the 'Bellagio Lavender' after the city in the Lake Como region of Northern Italy," said Magni. "We are proud of our Italian heritage, and as a result, many of our mattresses are branded to pay homage to major cities and cultural centers in our country. This branding strategy is not unlike the marketing approaches taken by hundreds of global products, services and real estate properties that carry the name of famous international cities."

Magniflex in its statement said its brand is synonymous with fine "made in Italy" craftsmanship and that, as a result, many of its products’ names "celebrate this identity and quality."

"The company believes that its Bellagio Lavender mattress – which has wholly unique features such as the infusion of pure lavender – can in no way be confused with a dramatically different product that happens to be named after a hotel-casino in Las Vegas," Magniflex said.

Magniflex's Bellagio Lavender mattress was initially launched in Italy and the European Union in 2009 before it was introduced in the United States this year.

Magni added that, when naming the Bellagio Lavender mattress, Magniflex was unaware of the Las Vegas luxury hotel’s line of home products or the pending trademark application the Bellagio filed for its mattress brand name.

Magniflex says it's Italy’s largest mattress manufacturer and sells its products in more than 70 nations.

The Bellagio resort, created by gaming executive Steve Wynn, takes its name and theme from Italy's Lake Como region.

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