The protection of the name ‘Aceto Balsamico di Modena’ (Modena balsamic vinegar) does not extend to the non-geographical terms ‘aceto’ and ‘balsamico’, which can therefore be used by any producer, according to the judgment delivered by the Court of Justice of the EU (CJEU) on Wednesday 4 December in case C-432/18.
The case in the main proceedings was between the Italian producer group Consorzio Tutela Aceto Balsamico di Modena and the German company Balema GmbH, which...