‘Evocation’ of Generic Elements of a Compound Geographical Indication Name

Journal article

1 electronic resource (page 464–470)

Extract Regulation (EU) 1151/2012, Art. 13(1)(b) – Balsamico Headnotes by the Editorial Office 1. The act of ‘evocation’ prohibited by Art. 13(1)(b) Regulation (EU) 1151/2012 has to pertain to a characteristic that in any case also alludes to the geographical origin of the protected product. 2. The protection granted to a geographical indication that is a compound name cannot extend to the exclusive use of individual non-geographical, generic, or common terms, as this would give the party registering those terms a monopoly over them. Supreme Court of Cassation (Corte Suprema di Cassazione), judgment of 17 April 2024 – 10350/2024 Facts of the case By judgment No. 1402/2022, published on 15 November 2022, the Court of Appeal of Brescia upheld a district court decision that had dismissed all of the plaintiff’s claims. The plaintiff, the Consorzio Tutela Aceto Balsamico di Modena (‘the Consorzio’), had initiated legal proceedings against Acetificio Mengazzoli S.n.c. and summoned them in 2017. It had sought a finding of unfair competition, within the meaning of Art. 2598 of the Italian Civil Code, against the defendant, as well as the consequent injunctions and compensation. The plaintiff had claimed to have found, in three supermarkets, a condiment produced by the defendant that did not comply with the specification of the protected geographical indication (PGI) ‘Aceto Balsamico di Modena’, the labelling of which contained visual and textual references to the protected name (the wording ‘Balsamico’ followed by ‘di MELA’ [‘made with apple’] or ‘di MELE’ [‘made with apples’]) in such a way as to evoke it within the meaning of Art. 13(1)(b) of Regulation (EU) No. 1151/2012.

Crossref

GRUR International ; 74, 5, 2025, 2632-8550.

[Oxford, England] : Oxford University Press (OUP), 2025.

English

https://academic.oup.com/grurint/article/72/3/231/6998505

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