“We are very happy to be able to inform you of our victory against Birkenstock in front of the Milan court,” said company boss Elvio Silvagni from Rafting Goldstar to Schuhkurier on Wednesday morning. Last night he received the official letter from the Milan Court. “The Court of Appeal rejected Birkenstock’s appeal and explained that there is no unfair competition.” The court granted the defense and convicted Birkenstock to reimburse all costs, the Italian company, based in Fusignano.
“The news came exactly ten years after this long legal dispute,” said the company’s head. Since August 2015, the legal dispute between the Italian family company Rafting Goldstar and Birkenstock took place. In the Benelux countries, the decision of the European Court of Justice was followed in 2018, in Germany the same judgment 2024. At the end of January 2025, Rafting Goldstar also received a judgment in the French Court of Justice in Paris in favor of his own brand. Only the judgment of the Italian court in the second instance was still pending.
