Advocacy/oriGIn Alerts

On 11-20 April, the EU and Japan held in Tokyo the 16th negotiating round for a free trade agreement (FTA). The negotiations had been officially launched in March 2013. On GIs: The discussion

UE/China GI Bilateral Agreement Summary List of EU GIs to be included in the Agreement

In India – a very promising market for spirits – “Scotch Whisky” is confronted several unfair and misleading practices. In this respect, under the new India’s Commercial Court rules, court proceedings were recently

In the framework of the new EU promotion policy for agricultural products (Regulation (EU) No 1144/2014), the first Calls for proposals have been published on 4 February 2016: Single programs: http://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/en/TXT/PDF/?uri=OJ:JOC_2016_041_R_0003 (deadline for

The Agreement between Switzerland and Jamaica on GIs – concluded in 2013 – entered in to force on 1 September 2014. With the overall objective to promote trade, the parties have agreed to

The Free Trade Agreement (FTA) between the EU and Singapore, which was initialed in September 2013 and is expected to be effective by the end of 2014, paved the way for a new

On 8 May, 2014 the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) issued its decision in case No. C-35/10 on the geographical denomination “SALAME FELINO”, following the 2012 request by the Italian

In an action brought by the Consejo Regulador of the PDO “Queso Tetilla”, the Commercial Court of appeal of Alicante has prohibited the commercialization of cheese not complying with the specifications of the

On 20 June, the Parliament of Paraguay adopted a new Law on GIs (Law No. 4.923). From now on, origin-based quality products’ names, such as “Stevia Paraguaya” (ka’a he’e), which currently enjoy protection

Adopted by the European Council on 13 November 2012, the Regulation No 1151/2012 on quality schemes for agricultural products and foodstuffs (the so-called ‘Quality Package’) was published in the Official Journal of the

On February 6, 75,000 counterfeited ‘’Sombreros Vueltiaos’’ from China have been confiscated by the Colombian Police. By the end of January this year, 800 false hats had been also confiscated. These measures were

A shipment consisting of more than 24,700 litres of distilled spirit from agave and alcohol intended to be sold as “Tequila”, while not complying with the corresponding product specifications, was seized in Hamburg,

The European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO) enforcement database (EDB) is a tool to protect against counterfeiting authentic products which have been granted intellectual property rights. Through a register, the EDB makes relevant

On 11 February 2014, at the occasion of the visit of the President of France, Mr. François Hollande, the US President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama hosted a State dinner. The

Last week, the London’s famous store “Harrods” blocked online and in-store sales of olive oil not corresponding to the product specification of the Protected Geographical Indication (PGI) “Toscano”, but sold as “made using

On 20 January, a decision of the Office for Harmonization in the Internal market (OHIM) Board of Appeal confirmed the decision of the Examiner on the Community Trade mark (CTM) “PARMATUTTO” (word): such

Recently, the 4-year dispute opposing the appellation of origin “Champagne” and the figurative Community Trade Mark Application (CTMA) “Champagnotèque” came to an end. The case started in 2010, when the figurative CTMA “Champagnotèque”

After months of intense negotiations, a political agreement on the key elements of the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) between the EU and Canada was reached on 18 October. With respect to

On 25 April, the EUIPO and the OECD released a report on GIs infringements for Wine, Spirits, Agricultural Products and Foodstuffs in the EU. The main objective of the report is to assess