Brussels, 14/07/2014 (Agence Europe) - Even though ICANN has remained unresponsive for many months to EU calls, “dialogue has not been broken” with the global internet regulator that the European Commission is still attempting to convince not to delegate the .vin and .wine names without the protection of geographical indications for wine. European Agriculture Commissioner Dacian Ciolos made these assurances to the Agriculture Council on Monday 14 July in Brussels.
A videoconference is expected to be organised soon between ICANN and on the Commission services. Ciolos warns that, “if our legitimate demands are not satisfied, consumer protection and trade loyalty will be protected on European territory because appropriate measures will be implemented to put a stop to possible encroachments on our geographical indications”. The Italian Presidency raised the subject and received support from several countries (including France, Portugal, Slovenia, Luxembourg, Greece and Hungary).
Without the guarantee sought by the EU, there is a risk that second level domain names such as “Chianti.vin”, “Rioja.wine” or “Champagne.vin” could become the property of rather unscrupulous third country owners, which would usurp the names and their reputations. Commission concerns focus on the wine sector but could also be extended to other domains afterwards. European legislation protects PGI against any direct or indirect use, against any attempts to take over, whether this is in the physical trade area (off-line) or electronically (online). (LC)