Brussels, 15/07/2011 (Agence Europe) - In a judgment handed down on 14 July (Cases C-4/10 and C-27/10), the Court of Justice ruled that the geographical indication “Cognac” cannot feature in the names of two Finnish spirit drinks, as it has been protected under EU law since 1989. Commercial use of these trade marks would damage the protected indication by misleading consumers as to the origin of the product.
Finnish company Gust. Ranin Oy registered two trade marks for spirit drinks...