Brussels, 14/07/2003 (Agence Europe) - The European Commission has decided to suspend its prosecution regarding trade barriers potentially imposed on French wine by Canadian legislation on trademarks (Amendment C-57). This decision follows the conclusion of many years of negotiations with a view to a bilateral agreement on the sales of wines and spirits, which was finally initialled by the Union and Canada on 24 April. The Europeans managed to obtain an agreement that the protected geographical indications (PGI) "Bordeaux" and "Médoc" will no longer be considered simply as generic denominations that Canadian producers may be tempted to use to compete with French wine on price, where they cannot compete on reputation. Indeed, Bordeaux and Médoc habitually enjoy "a considerable share of the Canadian market, which has a lot to do with their denomination", but "without adequate protection, the holders of these PGIs may see their position on this market as seriously doubtful", explained the Commission in the decision published in the Official Journal L170. It is worth noting that the enquiry carried out under the regulation on trade barriers- a prosecution (which may have led to a complaint being lodged in Geneva), which was launched in December 2001 by request of the Interprofessional Committee of Bordeaux Wines) had confirmed that amendment C-57 of the Canadian law on trademarks was an absolute infringement of several provisions of the multi-lateral trade-related aspects of intellectual property rights (TRIPS) agreement, notably on the status quo clause, indications, as the geographical indications in question do not enjoy the level of protection prescribed by this agreement. The proceedings will remain open until Bordeaux and Médoc have been removed from the list of generic names in amendment C-57.