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 containing the term “Cognac” and its Finnish translation, “konjakki”, but the Bureau national interprofessionel du Cognac, a French organisation of cognac producers, contested the legality of that registration before the Finnish courts. The Finnish Supreme Administrative Court, which is hearing the case, asked the Court of Justice: - whether the 2008 regulation (110/2008) on the definition, description, presentation, labelling and the protection of geographical indications of spirit drinks was applicable in assessing the conditions of registration of the two drinks; - if so, whether the registration of the two drinks should be invalidated; - whether use of the trade marks, designating products which do not meet production standards or alcohol content set for the use of the geographical indication “Cognac” is likely to mislead the public as to the nature, quality and geographical provenance of the products.
The Court responded to all three questions in the affirmative stating that, although the contested marks were registered in 2003, the 2008 regulation is applicable, retrospectively. European law had required member states, from 1996, to put an end to the use of geographical indications of spirit drinks for alcoholic beverages which do not originate in the areas designated by these indications. The Court points out that, independently of the protection it enjoys under French law, the term “Cognac” has been protected as a geographical indication under EU law since 15 June 1989. Consequently, the use of a mark containing the term “Cognac” for products which are not covered by that protected indication constitutes improper direct commercial use of this indication, liable to mislead consumers. The Finnish authorities must, then, invalidate the registration of the contested marks. (F.G./transl.rt)