Earlier in October, at the Anuga “International Food Exhibition” held in Cologne (Germany), the ex officio protection proved once again to be a very power tool for the enforcement of GIs.
On the one hand, the “Consorzio di tutela Aceto Balsamico di Modena” referred to the Court of Cologne concerning the presence at the Exhibition of a product commercialized as “Aceto Balzamico” while not corresponding to the PGI product specification. The Consorzio argued this represents an infringement the PGI “Aceto Balsamico di Modena”. The Court, in line with the views of the Court of Mannheim which last September had ruled that the use of the term “balsamico” for products comparable to the PGI could represent an evocation, ordered the immediate withdrawal as well as the destruction of the product at issue. On the other hand, the “Consorzio di tutela del formaggio Parmigiano-Reggiano” reported to the German authorities the infringement of the PDO Parmigiano-Reggiano by cheese products displayed at the Exhibition with designations evoking the PDO, in particular the ones denominated “reggianito”. The German authorities acted promptly and ordered the removal of the products at issue.
More information @ Press Release Aceto Balsamico di Modena & Press Release Parmigiano-Reggiano
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