ECJ ORDERS THAT EU COUNTRY REGULATORS HAVE NO DUTY TO ENFORCE GEOGRAPHICAL INDICATION RULES FOR FOREIGN DRINKS
February 1st, 2008
BY KEITH NUTHALL
THE EUROPEAN Union's (EU) protected designation of origin (PDO) system that defends EU traditional drinks from being copied outside their home region has been weakened. The European Court of Justice has ruled in a case involving German generic 'Parmesan' cheese, official consumer watchdogs to not have to enforce these rules for imported products. So if a Hungarian vineyard was producing sparkling wine as 'Champagne', French regulators would fight in Hungarian courts, not the Hungarian consumer authorities. The division of responsibility over ...
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