Geography Reference
In-Depth Information
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Article 41(1) provides that without prejudice to Art 13, this Regulation shall
not affect the use of terms that are generic in the Union, even if the generic term
is part of a name that is protected under a quality scheme.
Article 41(2) provides that to establish whether or not a term has become
generic, account shall be taken of all relevant factors, in particular:
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(a)
the existing situation in areas of consumption;
(b)
the relevant national or Union legal acts.
Article 41(3) provides that in order to fully protect the rights of interested
parties, the Commission shall be empowered to adopt delegated acts, in
accordance with Art 56, laying down additional rules for determining the
generic status of terms referred to in Art 41(1).
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11. Non-registration of generic terms
Article 6(1) provides that 'generic terms shall not be registered as protected
designations of origin or protected geographical indications'.
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12. Protection of registered PDOs and PGIs
Article 13(2) of the Regulation provides that PDOs and PGIs shall not become
generic.
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Under Art 3(3) of EEC Regulation 2081/92, the Council was supposed to draw
up a non-exhaustive, indicative list of the names of products which were
regarded as generic under Art 3(1) and not able to be registered. This list was to
have been published in the Official Journal before that regulation entered into
force, but the Member States were unable to agree on these designations and
the list has never been published. No equivalent provision appears in the
Regulation
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13. Case law
In Case C-317/95 53 Advocate General Colomer, said that a sign or term that
represents a product is generic if it forms 'part of the general cultural and
gastronomic stock and may, in principle, be used by any producer'. 54 Once an
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53
Opinion of the Advocate-General Ruiz-Jarabo Colomer in Canadane Cheese Trading AMBA and Adelfi G. Kouri
Anonymos Emoriki Kai Viomichaniki Etaireia v Hellenic Republic [1997] ECR I-4681.
54
Ibid at 28.
 
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