When it comes to intellectual property, and brand awareness, iconic Italian manufacturer Ferrari doesn't mess around. Hundreds of lawsuits regarding questionably modified cars and influencer culture surrounding the brand have proved this.
Because of this, it's no surprise that Ferrari has been fighting tooth and nail for the past few years to keep the body shape of the 250 GTO under trademark so replicas can't be sold by other businesses.
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Back in 2008, Ferrari first filed the trademark for its most coveted car, one that still holds the world record for being the most expensive car ever sold at auction with a $73,000,000 winning bid.
Just last year, Ferrari managed to retain this trademark after an Italian coachbuilder by the name of Ares unsuccessfully attempted to argue that Ferrari isn't making use of the trademark.
Just recently, Ares' persistence paid off and managed to convince the court that the trademark was "filed in bad faith, namely, as a defensive mark in order to block third parties to produce and sell similarly built sports cars."
According to the European Union Intellectual Property Office, companies have to be making use of a trademark to keep it active, and Ferrari haven't exactly been pumping out 250 GTO tributes lately.
This ruling means that the door has been opened for third-party car builders to legally build and sell replicas of the 250 GTO, including Ares, who are obviously keen to get the show on the road.
While it lost the exclusive right to the full-sized cars, Ferrari reportedly managed to hold on to the exclusive rights to producing 250 GTO toy cars. Which may be a small win, but is still worth something.
This doesn't mean that the replica market is about to be flooded with thousands of knock-off 250 GTOs, as prices will still be in sky-high. We've seen this in the past with the Shelby Cobra replicas.
So if you are a current 250 GTO owner, you won't have to worry about someone with only one comma in their bank account passing a 250 GTO replica off as the real thing, as the paper work behind these cars are worth a whole lot more than the metal.