Apparently, Big Red does not translate well in Italy.

A judge in the Italian Court of Lugo ruled against Western Kentucky University, Crossland Enterprises Inc. and Adfra in a copyright and trademark infringement suit involving the red, furry, amorphous blob that serves as WKU’s mascot.

The lawsuit was filed in 2002 against Mediaset, an Italian television company accused of copying Big Red’s mascot for one of its shows, “Striscia La Notizia” – a satirical news show whose title translates roughly to “Stripping the News.” California-based Crossland Enterprises sells licensing rights on behalf of WKU to international clients, one of which is Adfra, a licensing company based in Italy.

They sued Mediaset, which is owned by former Italian prime minister Silvio Berlusconi, over the show’s use of “Gabibbo,” a pot-bellied red blob who has been a popular television character for more than a decade – and whose likeness to Big Red is striking.

The suit claimed lost earnings of $250 million due to infringement, but the judge’s ruling handed down Dec. 11 sided with Mediaset.

According to a summary of the ruling, which was written by Giorgio Mondini, the lead counsel representing Adfra, the judge declared that while Big Red’s function as WKU’s mascot deserves copyright protection, the likeness of Big Red itself is in the public domain and cannot be protected under copyright law. And while Big Red’s chest is adorned with “WKU” in bold white letters and doesn’t talk, Gabibbo is a bit classier – he does talk, and wears a mock tuxedo and cuff links.

“In an American court there would have been no question that an infringement had occurred,” said Deborah Wilkins, general counsel for WKU, who called the ruling “ridiculous.”

Yet the case had to be tried in Italy, where the infringement is alleged to have occurred.

Mondini, in a letter written Dec. 17 to Richard Davidoff, a Beverly Hills attorney representing Crossland Enterprises, called the reasoning behind the ruling “incomprehensible and contradictory” and urged an appeal be filed. Davidoff was unavailable for comment Friday, but Wilkins said WKU and the other plaintiffs intend to appeal; that appeal would be heard by a panel of judges in the Court of Appeals of Bologna.

“We are going to continue to work through our Italian law firms and are retaining another law firm in Italy specializing in appeals,” Wilkins said.

In previous news reports, attorneys involved in the case said the Italian justice system is slow-moving, and Wilkins said Friday that attorneys for Adfra have told her the appeals process may take another two years.

Crossland has borne all the expenses relating to the suit, along with a trip to Italy made in 2004 by WKU Associate Athletic Director Jim Clark and Big Red himself – portrayed at the time by Bradford Connell Jr.

Big Red was created in 1979 by WKU graduate Ralph Carey.

Representatives of “Striscia la Notizia” have claimed that Gabibbo was trademarked in Italy in 1990, while WKU didn’t do so for Big Red until 1991. Yet Antonio Ricci, the show’s creator, admitted in a 1991 interview with Novella 2000 magazine that he copied Gabibbo from Big Red.

“There was this puppet called Big Red who was the mascot of an American basketball team. The team is Western Kentucky University,” Ricci is quoted as saying. “I’ve wrested him from a life of hardships and humiliations. He was a clown in Kentucky; he’s the biggest TV star here, in Italy … Big Red became Gabibbo.”

In a 2004 interview with the New York Times, Ricci did not deny having made those remarks, but claimed he was joking.

Big Red won the Key to the Spirit award at the Universal Cheerleading Association competition in 1980, 1981 and 1983, and placed third in the UCA’s second national championship event in 1990. The mascot was also prominently featured in ESPN’s promotion of the 25,000th episode of SportsCenter in 2002, and still pops up from time to time in commercials for Capitol One, which annually puts on a favorite mascot contest.

Although no longer Italy’s prime minister, Berlusconi still retains massive power in Italy through his media empire. He’s ranked 51st on Forbes Magazine’s 2007 list of the world’s wealthiest people, with a net worth of $11.8 billion.

“Our attorneys (in Italy) say they think the judge was feeling quite a bit of pressure (to rule in favor of Mediaset),” Wilkins said.

E-mail requests for comment sent Friday to Mondini, Mediaset and “Striscia la Notizia” were not returned.