Bolgheri vs Bolgarè, a victory for the territory, for the made in Italy, and for the made in Europe

An important victory, on the point and in the perspective, the Consorzio per la tutela dei Vini Bolgheri e Bolgheri Sassicaia DOC, led by Albiera Antinori, which, as reported yesterday by Winenews, in the EU headquarters, by the Euipo, European office for the trademark and intellectual property protection, after 5 years, was completely right in the long lawsuit that saw one of the most prestigious territories in Italy oppose the attempt to register the “Bolgaré” brand in the alcohol classification by the Domaine winery Boyar, one of the most important in Bulgaria.
An important legal victory not only for the Bolgheri denomination but for the whole system of Italian and European PDOs, because Euipo reaffirms the principle that a territorial brand cannot in any way be evoked by those who do not have the right. And this gives hope as well on the front of the controversy that sees Italy opposed to Croatia, which asked the EU Commission to register the traditional term Prosek, for which a first green light has arrived, but which the consortia of the Prosecco system, various agricultural organizations and Italian institutions, with the support of other European realities, against what according to many would be a “wound” for the entire mechanism of PDOs protection.
As commented yesterday by the PВ MEPs Paolo de Castro and Simona Bonafè, who had brought the Bolgheri-Bolgarè question to the European Parliament, with the Euipo sentence “a clear attempt of commercial usurpation by a Bulgarian brand (Bolgaré ), clearly evocative of Doc Bolgheri wines, but which has nothing to do with those that are considered among the best wines in the world.” “The appeal decision of the Appeals Commission of the Euipo, which sanctions the victory of the Consortium of Bolgheri, assisted by Bugnion and the undersigned - explains the lawyer Paola Stefanelli - in the opposition proceedings against the Bolgarè trademark application, is a lesson in consistency from the European Trademark Office on the protection of PDOs to the European Commission, which had recently approved the request for traditional mention for Croatian wine Prosek, outraging the Italian and non-Italian wine sector. No discount for those who intentionally or unintentionally evoke a registered DOP. The evocation, states the Euipo in the wake of the jurisprudence of the Court of Justice, is an absolute and objective concept, and it is up to those who adopt a trademark to verify, before filling it, that it is not evocative of a DOP. The Appeals Commission then notes that the evocation can also exist only in one of the member countries and the fact that it does not exist, for historical or linguistic reasons, in a part of the EU is irrelevant”.
“Good news for all our made in Italy and which I hope represents an important precedent in contrasting other attempts to recall our denominations”, commented the Undersecretary for Agricultural Policies (with responsibility for wine), Gian Marco Centinaio.
“These attempts - continues the Undersecretary - represent a threat not only for Italian products but for the entire European system of denominations. As had already happened in the Champagne vs Champanillo case, also on this occasion the maximum protection of the denominations against any type of evocation was reaffirmed, and the strong similarity of the two names was highlighted with the consequent risk for the consumer to mistakenly associate the Italian denomination and the Bulgarian brand. Now take this into account also for the Prosecco vs Prosek affair. In the world, there are wines that manage to conquer market shares only because they evoke our wines and our territories in the name. In the meantime, after a dispute that lasted years, today our excellence, appreciated all over the world, is defended. A victory not only for Bolgheri, but for all Made in Italy and all Made in the European Union”, concludes Centinaio.
“This is the judgment we were waiting for - said the vice president and Councilor for Agro-food of the Tuscany Region, Stefania Saccardi - because Bolgheri is not a play on words. Bolgheri is a territory, an unrepeatable place that exists only in that name, the same name of a product that only this land offers us, which give us unique know-how and tradition. With this decision, the European Trademark Office confirms that Tuscany and “made in Tuscany” are not a mere question of backyard defense but are the answer to those who need to find a quality product that is associated with beauty, history, value: 66 member companies of the Consortium. All this is Bolgheri, much more and far beyond clumsy attempts to deceive some unprepared”.