In a recent dispute concerning the use of the geographical indication (GI) and Protected Designation of Origin (PDO) “Salaparuta” for Sicilian wine, the Italian Supreme Court has deferred to the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) in order to determine the validity of this GI/ PDO as well as if co-existence is possible between the original users/ owners of the “Salaparuta” PDO and subsequent wineries that have used this on their labelling and packaging.

The arguments put forward by Duca di Salaparuta subsequently prompted the Italian Supreme Court to defer this matter to the CJEU so, as of yet, there has been no definitive ruling on these issues surrounding PDOs/ GIs. Given that the CJEU will have to decide if Article 43.2 can have retroactive effect, it will be interesting to see what final decision is made as it will inevitably impact how smaller brands can market their products in order to compete with larger and more established brands. It should be noted, however, that the scale of such change is only aimed at the impact of Article 43.2 on Italian legislation, particularly in the agri-foods sector. So, should the CJEU decide in favour of Duca di Salaparuta, it will be interesting to see if this would have retroactive application to prevent PDOs competing with trade marks.

Louis Adcock unpacks the significance of the case for the Wolters Kluwer Trademark Blog. You can read the full article here.