Trademark dispute sinks Cipriani restaurant

The Cipriani London restaurant, favourite eatery of celebrities such as Elton John and Naomi Campbell, has filed for administration after losing a costly trademark battle.

The restaurant was ordered to pay more than £7.5m in damages, when a Court of Appeal judge ruled that the CIPRIANI name infringed a trademark owned by Orient-Express Hotels for its famous Venice hotel – Hotel Cipriani. Cipriani London said it was calling in administrators ‘to protect its assets’ while it attempts to challenge the ruling.