Impact on trademarks of incoming new EU GI scheme for non-agricultural products

1. Incoming non-agri GIs
and their impact on trade marks
Edith Van den Eede
Trademark Attorney - Rome, Italy

2. TOPICS
I. GIs: What‘s cooking ?
II. New non-agri GI scheme
III. Impact on trade marks

3. I. GIs: What‘s cooking
1. Geneva Act Lisbon Agreement
2. EU Commission initiative to introduce new
non-agri GI scheme
3. GI: beautiful stranger?

4. II. Incoming non-agri GIs
1. TRIPS obligations (>< misleading / unfair competition)
2. EU level: currently 4 autonomous Regulations
- Quality Regulation agricultural products & foodstuffs
- Regulation establishing Single CMO for wines
- Regulation on spirit drinks
- Regulation on aromatised wine products
- („TRIPS plus“)
3. No harmonisation/unitary EU rules to protect non-
agricultural, industrial & artisanal GIs

6. II. Incoming non-agri GIs
4. Aim:
- protecting traditional know-how and cultural
heritage linked with a specific „terroir“
- remedy insufficient protection (outcome public
consultation – current different protection levels)
- improving negotiations with third countries
5. New scheme:
- open to GIs from third countries (TRIPS)
- exhaustive in nature? (Bud I & Salame Felino II)

7. • Study on GI protection for non-agri
products in the Internal Market
(March 2013) - Public hearing
(April 2013)
STUDY on non-agri GI protection
•Green Paper on possibile extension of EU GI
protection to non-agri products (July 2014)
•Public consultation (ended October 2014)GREEN PAPER
• Conference with stakeholders on preliminary results of
the public consultation (January 2015)
• Working doc. Legal Affairs Committee of EU Parliament
PUBLIC
CONSULTATION
• Draft report on possible extension by rapporteur Legal Affairs
Committee of European Parliament (April 2015)
• ……
Non-agri
GI
scheme?
6. New scheme: the making of

8. III. Impact on trade marks
1. GI : beautiful stranger ?
©iStockphoto.com/ZoneCreative

9. III. Impact on trade marks
1. Additional absolute refusal grounds:
- Additional pool of GIs (TM clearance!)
- Relationship TMs & GIs
SHALL WE
CO-EXIST NOW,
OR SHALL WE
CO-EXIST LATER?

10. III. Impact on trade marks
1. Additional absolute refusal grounds:
- direct impact on OHIM & national PTOs
‘Legislative Package‘ :
national TM offices & OHIM must refuse ex
officio applications in violation of PGIs
(„pursuant to Union legislation or international
agreements to which the Union is party“)

11. III. Impact on trade marks
1. Additional absolute refusal grounds:
- Example
Italian TM MURANO À PORTER VS
cl. 14 and 21
-> after submission of GI application: refusal for product of the same type
-> before submission: under certain circumstances co-existence possible
(Art. 24.5 TRIPS: good faith + acquired before GI protection country of origin
Art. 14 Quality Reg.1151/12 >< Art. 17 Reg.2081/92 accelerated proceedings)
-> no GI registration only where prior TM‘s reputation, renown and length of
use would be liable to mislead consumers as to the true identity of product

12. III. Impact on trade marks
1. Additional absolute refusal grounds:
- Example
Italian TM MURANO À PORTER VS
cl. 14
TM MURANO THERAPY VS
ROYAL BAIN DE MURANO
cl. 3
-> after submission of GI application: refusal or annulment where
exploitation of reputation (even if products - or services - that are not
comparable)

13. III. Impact on trade marks
2. Need for simplification and
alignment
-overall complexity
(EU - 3rd countries - Lisbon GIs)
-> detrimental to the system‘s efficiency & visibility
-single & horizontal legal framework for EU unitary protection and
enforcement for all GIs (with clear provisions & single database)
-registration process & administration of single GI database
centralized under 1 body (OHIM? Cf. Legal Affairs Committee EU Parliament)

14. IV. Concluding remarks
Thank you
edith.vandeneede@praxi-ip.com